


Ben 10: The Ultimate Decision

by Aoseh



Category: Ben 10 Series
Genre: Action/Adventure, Angst with a Happy Ending, F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-03-18
Updated: 2021-03-25
Packaged: 2021-03-27 17:40:19
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 16
Words: 32,353
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/30126432
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Aoseh/pseuds/Aoseh
Summary: This story is based on the ending of the "Absolute Power" episode in season 1, and a rewrite of Ben's final decision against Kevin.What happens when Ben doesn't listen to Gwen's plan and decides to take things into his own hands once and for all? How will their relationship change afterwards? How will Ben change? Alternate ending/Dark Ben.
Relationships: Charmcaster/Ben Tennyson
Kudos: 4





	1. Hard Decisions

Ben sat in his car and looked at his watch. The rain was hitting softly against the window as he thought to himself,  _ Am I making the right choice? _ It was hard to tell with all the crying and yelling Gwen did when she confronted him at the house. He knew that Kevin was their friend, but they had to think of everyone else for once. Their friend was a threat to everyone around him and there was no telling when he might lose control. This time Kevin hurt a lot of Plumbers, almost killing one. It was the same thing last time. Grandpa Max had told him to do what has to be done. Gwen only sees Kevin as a friend and she can’t read between the lines. Ben tensed up as he saw Kevin flying overhead and disappear behind some buildings. The teenager knew that the monster was tracking Gwen’s energy. He stepped out of his vehicle and walked in the rain over to the “meetup” point. Ben hid behind a corner and watched the titan land in front of his cousin. He saw them talking but couldn’t make out what they were saying. It wasn’t long before a fight began and Gwen tried to lure him into her trap, but Kevin knew better and blasted a stream of fire in her direction. She put up a magical barrier to block it but the impact shattered the shield and sent her flying onto her back. Kevin stomped forward to drain her of her energy, but was interrupted by a cold robotic voice.

“And to think she was so willing to help you.”

Kevin turned around to see who was speaking and glared at the familiar person. Ben stood in his ultimate Echo-Echo form, the rain dripping down his stainless steel body as he stepped into view. 

“Tennyson. I knew you’d be here.” Kevin growled at the alien.

“Yet you were stupid enough to show your face.”

Ben didn’t let Kevin respond as he raised his arms out in front of him and shot out supersonic waves in the direction of his enemy. Kevin was pummeled by the sudden attack, but crossed his arms in front of his face and stood his ground. Ben dialed up the intensity and Kevin was swept off his feet and sent flying through several buildings behind him. The hero began to walk in the direction of the crash site, but was grabbed from behind by Gwen.

“Wait! You said you’d try my way first!” The girl protested.

“Yeah… I lied.” 

Ben shook the girl off and continued to where Kevin landed. He saw a tank soaring through the air and he quickly tossed two discs out to intercept it. The sonic discs trapped the tank in a sonic forcefield and crushed it effectively, before returning to Echo-Echo. Ben didn’t notice Kevin flying through the holes he made to shoulder-check the distracted Ben into a lamp post. The boy fell to the ground with a groan and Kevin immediately shot several diamond projectiles and a stream of flames at the dazed hero. Ben raised his hand up and released an array of supersonic rings at the attack. The intense air pressure dissipated the fire and shattered the diamonds into pieces. 

“You think you can beat me, Tennyson? I have all your powers. I know-”

“Shut up, you fucking prick. I was willing to make this work for Gwen’s sake but I know that even if you go back to normal, you’re just a disaster waiting to happen. So let’s cut the chatter and get straight to the point.” Ben interrupted hastily.

Kevin snarled at the hero and blasted more fire in his direction. Ben dodged to the side as the flames engulfed the old car behind him and threw several discs out that surrounded Kevin in the air.

“Sonic DOOM!” Ben screeched as he released an all out attack on his former friend. 

The sonic pulses trapped Kevin in a forcefield of supersonic waves that scrambled his brain and immediately rendered him unconscious. The older teen crashed into the ground underneath him in defeat. Ben sighed and walked towards the body with the intent of finishing Kevin off.

“NO BEN!”

Ben turned to see Gwen running towards him with Cooper and Darkstar in tow. 

“Ben, please don’t do this.” 

Ben transformed back into his human self and glared at Gwen.

“He was going to kill you, Gwen! And he would do it again. He doesn’t give a shit about you. Or anyone! I HAVE to do this. Why can’t you understand?”

“Fine. Be the hero and protect the innocent. That’s Kevin too!”

“ENOUGH! You come here with a smuggler and a villain and expect me to trust you? Over Paradox? It’s clear to me now that you can’t handle this type of work.”

“Hey come on, Ben. Leave her-” Cooper started.

“Nobody is talking to you, Cooper.” Ben snapped.

Ben transformed into Rath and looked down at the knocked out Kevin as he cocked his arm back, the hero pointed the sharp appendage at Kevin’s head. Gwen watched in horror as Ben plunged his claw into Kevin’s face. There was a sickening crunch as it drilled through his skull and entered his brain. Ben twisted the claw before pulling it out quickly. Cooper bent over to vomit violently as bloodied chunks of skull and brain flew out of the massive hole in Kevin’s head. Gwen dropped to her knees shaking and screamed at the loss of her lover, sobs racked her body as she hugged herself. Ben took a deep breath and closed his eyes as he transformed back into his normal form. He pressed the comms button on the watch and spoke solemnly,

“Grandpa Max? Mission complete. Please send a patrol to collect the body.”

“Roger that, Ben.”

Ben turned around to Cooper, who was still dry heaving.

“Get Gwen home safe. And I suggest you clean the mess you made in the lab unless you want the Plumbers to confiscate it.”

Ben walked past Darkstar without a word and continued to his car. The rain felt a little heavier than before, but Ben realized it was his own tears that were wetting his cheeks. The hero transformed into Humungousaur and roared into the night sky before slamming his massive fist into the concrete, which sent cracks up and down the road and sidewalk. The initial impact reduced the ground to a crater of broken concrete. Ben changed back and slammed his fist onto his trunk.

“I didn’t think you had it in you.”

“You would be wise to walk away.”

“I mean you killed your ally with no hesitation. I never heard of a hero that kil-”

Darkstar was cut off by a flash of green light. Then he was faced with one of Ben’s aliens. Swampfire towered over the blonde with a scowl on his face and clenched fists. He was NOT in the mood for this. 

“Back off. Now.”

“Or what? You’ll kill me too?”

Swampfire stared at the villain as his arm shot out to the side and released a baseball-sized fireball in the direction of an old barracks. As soon as the flames touched the building, it burst into a raging fire that engulfed the entire building in seconds. 

“Listen up. I want you to crawl back to whatever shithole you came out of and tell all the villains and scum alike that if I hear so much as a PEEP from ANYONE. They’re done. I just killed my best friend, so I won’t think twice about offing one of you freaks. This is your one and only warning, Darkstar. Do not show your face around here again.” Ben snarled.

Darkstar widened his eyes before flashing his signature smile.

“Sure thing. Anything for YOU, Tennyson.” He said as he turned to leave.

Ben watched him walk off before getting into his car and driving off the military base onto the main road. The road was completely empty as he sped down the highway. He hated that he felt fine about what happened. While Gwen fell apart, he was perfectly okay with the events of today. It made him disgusted with himself and he felt soulless. He heard his phone go off through the bluetooth and saw that it was Julie, he hesitated before pressing “answer”. 

“Hey Ben. You got plans tonight?”

“...”

“Ben?”

“Wha? Oh sorry, hey Julie. What’s up?”

“Ben, are you okay?”

“Uhh yeah why?”

“You sound pretty distressed right now, is this a bad time?”

“Nah I’m just driving.”

“Ookay. You want to hang out tonight? I was thinking we could watch a movie or something.”

“Sure. Come over, I’ll be home in like 30 minutes.”

“Sounds great! See you then.”

Ben ended the call and pushed down on the gas pedal as he flew down the country road. He made it in 20 minutes thanks to his brand-new sports car, the boy pulled into his driveway to see Julie walking up to his door. 

“Oh you’re here early.” Julie said as she smiled at the boy.

“Yeah, no traffic.” 

They walked into his parent’s house and Ben looked for any sign of his family, but remembered they left on a roadtrip with his aunt and uncle earlier in the day. Julie sat on the couch as Ben entered his kitchen to make popcorn. The hero walked back out with a bowl of the buttery snack and Julie looked away from the television to acknowledge his presence.

“Whoa. Is that blood?” Julie asked as she pointed to a small streak of dried blood on his jacket.

“Oh I cut myself on some glass earlier today, it must have bled through when I put my jacket back on. I’ll be right back.”

Ben rushed upstairs into his bedroom and threw his jacket into the corner of his room, he didn’t know whose blood that was but he didn’t want to find out. He changed out of his shirt as well and fixed up his hair before heading back down stairs. He sat down with Julie on the couch and they cuddled up to watch “Sumo Slammers” on cable. 

“You smell really good. New perfume?” Ben asked.

Julie blushed before responding, “Yeah haha thank you.”

Ben looked into Julie’s bright brown eyes and immediately felt at peace with everything. Julie blushed again before leaning in slowly to plant a small kiss on the boy’s lips. They stared at each other for a few moments before their lips crashed together again in a passionate kiss, their hands roaming each other’s bodies. Julie moaned as Ben pulled away and kissed her neck softly, she felt like she was heaven until the sound of the door flying open broke her out of her trance. 

“Are you fucking kidding me?”

Julie yelped and turned to an angry-looking Gwen, she pressed herself closer into Ben’s arms.

“You KILLED Kevin so you come home to FUCK JULIE?” Gwen spat at her cousin.

“Excuse you, why are you in my house?”

“I came to talk to you, but it seems like you’re busy with other things.” 

“A simple text would have answered that for you.”

“I can’t believe you. I can’t fucking believe you, Ben.”

“BELIEVE WHAT? Did you expect me to come home and cry myself to sleep? I was the hero that did what nobody could do!” 

“You’re not a hero… You’re just a fucking dog that follows orders.” 

Ben was starting to get pissed off, the teenager stood up from the couch and glared at his cousin.

“I dare you to say that again. He wasn’t just your friend. Get the fuck out.” Ben said sharply.

Gwen shook her head in disgust before walking out.

“Fuck you,  _ hero _ .” Gwen muttered as she slammed the door shut behind her. 

Julie was flabbergasted at the scene that just unfolded in front of her, she never saw Gwen get that mad much less at Ben. She watched her boyfriend sit down on the couch and put his head in his hands. She sat beside him to comfort him but he pushed her away.

“I’m sorry, Julie but I just want to be alone right now.”

“Oh. Okay that's no problem, I’ll be on my way then. Call me later or whatever. I love you.”

Ben didn’t respond and Julie hung her head in shame and walked out of the house. The teenage boy stood up and flipped the coffee table over before walking upstairs. He entered his room and jumped on his bed. He felt tears threatening to spill again as he laid there.  _ Fuck this _ , the boy thought as he closed his eyes and drifted to sleep.


	2. Off the Deep End

Ben awoke from his slumber and rolled over. The events of yesterday started to flood his memory as he got up. The teenager stretched and started his morning routine of working out and personal hygiene. Ben was fixing his hair in the mirror as he heard footsteps downstairs. He grabbed a new jacket from his closet and walked downstairs to investigate the noises. 

“Better come out before the watch comes out.” Ben threatened as he rounded the corner.

“Is that any way to greet your grandfather?” Max called out as he stepped out of the kitchen.

“Grandpa! I didn’t know you were coming. What’s up?” Ben laughed as he went to hug his grandfather.

“Good to see you too. But we need to talk. Preferably now.” 

Ben noticed the older man’s change in tone and raised an eyebrow.

“About?”

“Yesterday.”

Ben groaned as he walked past Max into the kitchen to grab a banana. He sat down at the table as he enjoyed his snack.

“Ben, this is serious. I’m worried about Gwen. And you.”

“UGH! Gwen needs to fucking get over herself.”

“Benjamin!” Max scolded.

“What! Did you not tell me to kill Kevin?”

“I told YOU to do what you must to STOP Kevin.”

“And that I did. Just because you use a different word doesn’t mean you’ll get different results.”

“I never expected this out of you.”

“Join the club. Now did you come here to berate my decision or did you actually have something important to tell me?” Ben said as he threw his banana peel in the garbage.

“We have intel that Hex and Charmcaster are plotting something sinister. Something about opening the spirit realm. Can you go with Gwen to check it out?”

“I’ll go to check it out, but it’s probably not going to be with Gwen.”

“That’s fine. Just promise me that you’ll talk to her tonight.”

“I can make that happen.” 

“Thanks Ben. And by the way, I think you made the right choice but I don’t think YOU believe you did.” Max commented as he exited the house and left Ben alone.

The teenager looked at his phone and saw three missed calls from Julie and a couple text messages, he decided to give her a ring as he walked outside of his house. 

“Julie? Did I wake you up?”

“No, I was having breakfast already. I have a tennis match at twelve. What’s up? Everything okay with Gwen?”

“I was just tired last night and I’m sorry if I was being a jerk. I haven’t spoken to Gwen since last night, but I plan to call her later today. I have a couple things to do first.”

“It’s fine, Ben. I’m just worried about you and her. You guys said some hurtful things to each other… I know this might be none of my business, but what did Gwen mean when she said you killed-”

“Sorry babe I have to go, Grandpa Max is calling me. I’ll talk to you later! Good luck on your match! Bye!” Ben lied as he ended the call and jumped in his car. 

Ben turned the radio up to drown out his thoughts as he peeled out of his driveway and sped off down the street. He was heading to Charmcaster’s recent hideout to find any leads into what they were planning. The ride over to the abandoned church was quick as he pulled into the gravel driveway and parked. The hero sat in his car for a few moments to scan the front yard before stepping out and looking around. The only sound was the wind blowing through the trees and the place showed no sign of activity. Ben hated creepy places and abandoned churches were definitely on the list. He walked up to the closed gate and slipped through the opening to access the steps leading up to the old wooden doors. He knew Charmcaster used to frequent this place back when she went solo. Ben didn’t bother knocking as he pulled the door open, the squeaking of old hinges filled his ears. The boy walked inside and saw that everything was covered in a thin layer of dust, he looked up at the crucifix that hung above the altar and saw the wood on it slowly decaying. Ben took a seat in one of the pews and closed his eyes,  _ God. Why don’t I feel remorse?  _ Ben wondered as he sighed deeply. The boy enjoyed the few moments of peace and quiet until his ears picked up slow footsteps.

“Sneaking up on me is never a good idea.” Ben voiced.

“Breaking into a witch’s domain isn’t either.” A female voice spoke.

Ben opened his eyes and looked behind him at the witch.  _ She has definitely changed since I was a kid.  _ Ben thought as he looked her up and down. Charmcaster still wore her signature purple robes with black stockings and matching boots, but her getup showed off her womanly features nicely. She braided her long silver hair neatly and wore a touch of makeup that made her eyes pop. Ben was always fascinated by the bright purple eyes that changed shades according to her mood. The witch’s full lips were turned in a scowl as she stared at her enemy through narrowed eyes.

“A little birdie told me you and your uncle were up to no good. Is that true?”

“Oh you’re talking to animals now? And they call me crazy.” Charmcaster mocked, as she smirked at the hero.

“Let’s be real, they call you a lot of things.” Ben shot back with his signature smile.

Charmcaster’s hands glowed purple as she glared at the boy. Ben chuckled and put his hands up quickly.

“Whoa! Big bad witch can’t take a fucking joke. Cool it, I’m only here to talk.”

“Too late for that, buddy!” The witch snapped back.

She blasted a beam of energy at Ben, who ducked underneath the pew as the seats behind exploded into pieces of wood. A bright green flash enveloped the room as Charmcaster waited for the boy to reveal himself. She gritted her teeth as one of his aliens stood up instead. Chromastone stood tall as he watched the girl in silence. The witch threw more energy orbs at him but they were absorbed when they connected with his chest.

“Give it up. You’re not gonna beat me in this form.”

“You underestimate me, BEN!”

Charmcaster pulled two small balls from her pouch and tossed them at her feet, the purple markings on them glowed as they grew into massive golems. The minions slowly moved towards Ben as he was busy deflecting magic spells from the caster. One tried to pounce on him, but he jumped back into the other who latched its mouth on his arm. Ben yelled as the golem bit down and he tried pulling his arm away. It was no use as Charmcaster blasted him with more magic spells. Ben snapped when another beam of magical energy blew up in his face, Chromastone collected energy around his fist and punched the monster in its face; the impact reduced the golem to a pile of rubble. Ben quickly turned his attention to the beam of energy hurtling towards him and he immediately absorbed it and sent it back to the caster. Charmcaster rolled to the side to dodge and Ben used this opportunity to smash the other golem to bits. He quickly walked over to the witch as she recovered and grabbed her by the throat. He raised her into the air as she helplessly slammed her fist into his arm.

“Enough games. Where is Hex?” Ben snapped.

“What so you can kill him too?”

Ben widened his eyes before narrowing them at the girl. Charmcaster smirked as she touched the wand, she grabbed from her purse while Ben was distracted, against Chromastone’s stomach. 

“Gotcha.”

Ben dropped the girl as he was sent flying backwards past the altar and through the brick wall into the cemetery. He hit the ground rolling as he smashed through several gravestones before coming to a stop near the fence. He immediately reverted back to his human self as he rolled onto his side and spat out blood. 

“Fucking bitch.” Ben murmured as he struggled to stand. 

Charmcaster walked over to the boy and kicked him in the stomach, making him drop to his hands and knees again. 

“On the contrary, I think YOU’RE the bitch here.” 

The witch aimed her glowing wand at the boy’s face to end him. Ben tried to reset his watch but nothing was happening.

“Goodbye, hero.”

Ben shut his eyes and prepared for the worse, but nothing happened. He slowly opened them again to see Charmcaster wrapped in magical energy and her wand on the ground. He looked around and saw Gwen at the fence with a nasty frown on her face. She had a pink magical aura casted around her hands as she yelled and threw her hands to the side, causing Charmcaster to be picked up and thrown against a tree trunk. The witch slid down the trunk onto the ground, gasping for air, as the impact knocked the air clean out of her lungs. 

“Nice one, Gwen. My turn.” Ben muttered as he twisted his watch and slammed it down.

A green light shone as Ben was turned into Cannonbolt. The alien turned into a ball and sped through the graveyard towards the witch, he crashed into her weak body and sent her completely through the tree into another one ten feet away. She screamed in pain as she landed on the ground.

“BEN! Are you insane? You could have killed her!” Gwen yelled at her cousin.

Ben reverted back to normal and looked at the red head.

“Says the one who ragdolled her into a tree.”

“She was going to kill you!”

“Hm. How ironic.”

Gwen ignored her cousin as she ran over to the injured Charmcaster. She noticed the witch was covered in blood, cuts, and bruises. The red-head grimaced as she saw the obviously broken arm and a sharp branch that pierced her side. Gwen knelt beside the girl and started to perform healing magic on her.

“G-get away from m-me, you dumb bitch.” Charmcaster stuttered as she winced in pain.

“I’m trying to save your life, doofus.” Gwen replied.

“Wait. I still need information from her.” Ben echoed from behind the girls.

“What?” Gwen asked as she turned to see her cousin approaching.

Ben pulled Gwen away from the injured Charmcaster and he knelt beside her instead.

“Where is your uncle Hex?” He whispered slowly.

“Go to Hell, asshole.” The witch snarled as she spat blood in Ben’s face.

“Suit yourself.” Ben said as he stood up and wiped the fluid off.

He slowly pressed his foot down on the hand of the girl’s broken arm. Charmcaster’s eyes widened as she screamed in pain. 

“Where?” Ben asked.

The girl continued to scream loudly as Ben put more pressure on her hand. Charmcaster had tears running down her face as she begged Ben to stop. 

“WHERE?” 

“I DON’T KNOW!”

“Ben! Stop, she doesn’t know! What are you doing?”

Ben ignored his cousin as he put his foot completely down on Charmcaster’s hand. The witch felt pain shoot up her arm as she used her other hand to weakly hit the boy’s leg in hopes of pushing him off. Ben stared blankly at the teary eyes sorceress as she squirmed under his weight. 

“Where?” Ben asked quietly.

Charmcaster looked into his eyes and saw nothing, no darkness, no light, just a blank face. She felt like she was going to pass out any second from the agonizing pain.

“The old library at the edge of town! That’s all I know! Please stop!” Charmcaster pleaded.

Ben took his foot off her hand and turned around.

“I hope your uncle was worth the pain. Gwen, take her to the hospital.” Ben said as he tossed his keys at his shocked cousin. 

The boy transformed into Jetray and flew into the sky before blasting off towards the library. Gwen stared at her cousin disappearing in the distance before she was brought back to reality by the sounds of Charmcaster’s moans. She gently helped the girl into the passenger side before running over to the driver’s door and jumping in. The girls sat in silence as Gwen sped off in the direction of the hospital.  _ Ben, what’s happening to you?  _ Gwen pondered as she drove quickly. 


	3. It All Comes Crashing Down

The library came into view as Ben rocketed through the air at break-neck speeds. He started to descend as he came closer to his destination. The hero noticed a large opening in the roof and dived into it before slowing and transforming back into human Ben as he landed. The boy rose from his kneeling position and scanned the area. Ben didn’t see Hex or any sign of him in the old library, all he saw was books and tables littered everywhere. He walked around in search of his old enemy and was getting irritated when he turned up empty-handed. Ben threw a bookshelf down in frustration and books scattered everywhere. He kicked the reading material away from him and slammed his fist on the table.

“I swear to God if she lied to me…”

“Then what? Huh? You already sent my niece to the hospital. What, may I ask, comes next? Will you kill her, Ben Tennyson?”

Ben smirked as he heard the voice call out from behind him.

“It’s about time you showed your face, Hex. I was starting to think Charmcaster lied to me. It cost an arm and a leg to get your location. Well at least an arm for her.” Ben taunted menacingly.

“I find your humor to be crude, boy.”

“Then let’s skip the joke and go straight to the PUNCHLINE!” Ben yelled the last part as he slammed his watch down.

Hex watched his enemy be engulfed in green light, then changed into one of his aliens. The fire crackled in Heatblast’s body as he stepped forward. The warlock and alien stood in silence for a few more moments before Hex reached his hand out and summoned his staff. Ben wasted no time shooting off several fireballs in Hex’s direction. The warlock casted a maroon colored shield around him and the fire bounced off harmlessly. Heatblast ignited fire underneath his feet and rocketed forward, but Hex anticipated this move and threw small marked balls at Ben. The balls exploded and the impact sent Ben off course, crashing into the tables and shelves to the left of Hex. Ben jumped to his feet to face his opponent, but a massive bookshelf slammed into him and sent him crashing into the wall. Ben groaned as he attempted to push the shelf aside but another bookshelf landed on top of him. Then several chucks of the wall were piled on top of the hero. Hex pointed his staff at the boy as more debris was toppled on top of him. Hex lowered his staff when he was satisfied with the amount of rubble that crushed the boy. The sorcerer turned around thinking that he won.

“Pfft. What a weak child.”

The rubble shifted slightly before beginning to shake intensely. It felt like an earthquake was attacking the building as the ground trembled violently. Hex spun around to look at the debris pile and widened his eyes when he saw a bright light shining through different cracks and holes in the rubble. It was a few moments after when the debris exploded outwards in all directions. Hex put a shield up to protect himself as he watched the chaos. Heatblast stood in the middle as his flames returned to its normal state from its earlier eruption. Ben shot wave after wave of fire at Hex’s shield. It began to crack underneath the pressure and Ben blasted a powerful stream of flames to finish it off. Hex tried to dodge the oncoming heat from his broken shield, but Ben anticipated his movements and used his free hand to shoot another column of fire at the warlock. Hex had no time to react as flames engulfed him, his skin burning into nothingness as his body was reduced to a blistening pile of molten cell tissue. Ben cooked the sorcerer alive, the man’s nerves and muscles were boiled down in a second and you can see his charred skeleton through the goo. Ben transformed back into human and looked at the still ignited corpse. He tried to keep his cool, but that lasted a few seconds before he ran to the corner and puked his guts out. He couldn’t get the smell out of his nose. He saw the banana he consumed earlier in his bile, he stood hunched over as the queasiness attacked his body. Ben was disgusted by the dead body, but he wasn’t disgusted with himself.  _ Hex was trying to kill me. I was defending myself.  _ Ben thought as he removed the line of spit from the corner of his mouth. He looked back once at the body and bowed his head for a moment of silence. He WAS Charmcaster’s guardian after all, it was the least he could do. Ben transformed back into Jetray and took off towards his house. 

He reached his residence in a matter of minutes and reverted back in his front yard. Ben noticed his car was parked in his driveway and walked into his house. He looked around confused at the people who lingered in his home. He saw Gwen, Cooper, Allen, and the other kid Plumbers. Ben noticed his grandpa standing in the doorway of the kitchen. 

“You know you’re supposed to yell surprise when I walk in right?” Ben joked.

“You think this is a fucking joke?” Cooper yelled as he stood up.

Gwen motioned for him to relax as she stood up instead.

“Ben, I told grandpa about what you did to Charmcaster.”

“And?” Ben replied quickly.

“This guy…” Allen muttered as he rolled his eyes and facepalmed.

“What you did was illegal, Ben. You’re not allowed to torture people.” Max chimed in.

“What are you gonna do? Arrest me for it?” Ben snapped back.

“That was the plan.”

“You planned to bring in the person with the strongest weapon in the universe. And your backup is a couple of inexperienced kids who can’t control their powers? Bad move.”

“We hoped you came peacefully.” A familiar voice cut in.

Ben turned around to see Azmuth walking across his TV stand.

“Azmuth? You’re on their side? You’re the one who designed the watch for warriors!”

“YOU’RE A HERO, BENJAMIN TENNYSON. NOT A WARRIOR. I trusted you with the watch to see if you convince me that there is such a thing as heroes. What you’ve been doing as of late is starting to convince me otherwise, especially since you were about to use the watch on your own friends and family.”

“What, you’re spying on me now?”

“Did you expect me to leave the most dangerous tool in the universe to a human child? Of course I’ve been watching you and yes I know what you did to Hex.”

Everyone looked around in confusion besides Gwen who widened her eyes and Ben who narrowed his eyes at the small creature.

“Well you’re wrong?”

“About?” 

“I’m not going peacefully.” Ben said as he raised his hand to slam down on the watch.

Azmuth frowned as he watched Ben slap the watch multiple times with nothing as the result.

“What the fuck?”

“I locked the device as soon as you stepped in the room. I’m not stupid, Ben.”

Ben growled and lunged at the creator before being grabbed by Manny and forced into handcuffs. 

“You’re making a big mistake. Who’s going to protect the town, huh? You think Gwen can do it by herself? You think these brats can face off against the monsters of this city? These criminals are afraid of me! Once they know I’m gone, they will tear this place apart!”

“BEN STOP! Just… Stop. I don’t even know who you are anymore.” Gwen screamed at her cousin. 

“I’m your COUSIN, Gwen. That hasn’t changed.”

“That’s enough. Take him to the ship, Manny.” Grandpa Max interjected.

Manny nodded as he moved Ben out of the house with the rest of the group in tow. 

“Ben? BEN! What’s going on?” Julie yelled as she ran up to her boyfriend’s house.

The hero ignored her as he was dragged by Manny towards the ship that revealed itself in Ben’s yard.

“Gwen, what’s happening? Where are they taking Ben? Wait!” Julie asked the redhead.

“Ugh. Julie, I’m kinda busy right now. We can talk about it tomorrow, but there’s a chance you won’t be seeing Ben for a while.” Gwen replied tiredly as she wiped the tears from her eyes.

“Wait! No please don’t take him away! Please!” Julie cried as she burst into tears.

People on the sidewalks stopped to look at the commotion, along with neighbors in the windows. They watched their friendly hero be dragged away in handcuffs with several aliens close behind. Gwen and Max lagged behind with Azmuth who was taking his time to study Ben’s neighborhood. Julie dropped to her knees with her head in her hands as she sobbed violently. The ship took off after loading the trio and blasted into the sky. The town watched their hero be taken away from them in the blink of an eye.


	4. Breakout

Ben sat on the stool inside of his temporary jail cell on the ship. He watched everyone man their stations in silence as they rocketed through space.

“Grandpa, you can’t just take me away. What about my parents? And my friends? What are you going to tell them?”

The older man ignored the teen as he continued to pilot the ship. Ben was infuriated by his grandfather’s actions and stood up before grabbing ahold of the cell bars.

“Grandpa! You can’t fucking do this! I WAS ONLY DOING WHAT YOU SAID.” Ben shouted across the room. 

Max sighed before throwing his headset down and pressing a couple buttons, he proceeded to spin around in his chair to look at his grandson.

“Ben, you violated Plumber policies and you were about to attack official agents. The higher-ups know about your actions, if it's not us then it's just gonna be someone else. So please, do not make this harder than it already is and try to understand. Nothing is set in stone, they can always just let you off with a slap on the wrist.” 

“Bullshit. They wouldn’t know if YOU didn’t tell them, grandpa! You fucking trai-”

Ben was cut off by the sound of Cooper smashing his fist on the desk and jumping up to get in the hero’s face.

“You really don’t fucking get it, do you? You think this is easy for anyone? You’re our friend, Ben. But recently you’ve been acting like a real asshole. Do you know how many times Gwen has cried in the past two days? Praying that the Plumbers don’t send the Alpha squad to blast your ass? Now you’re yelling at the man that basically covered for you, you ungrateful little SHIT!” Cooper exploded as he glared at the older teen. 

Ben returned the death stare before chuckling darkly and stepping back from the bars.

“Gwen gives you a little attention and now you think you’re a big dog, huh? Well let me tell you something, Cooper. She doesn’t give a shit about you, All you are is a tissue for her to use and throw away. You think you’re gonna get a piece of ass if you agree to be her lapdog? Wake up and smell the coffee, kid. You’re gonna be stuck kissing Gwen’s ass for eternity because you don’t have the balls to take it any further, you oversensitive prepubescent freak. And pro-tip, Gwen only fucks bad boys.” Ben spat at the younger boy with all the venom he could muster. 

Ben smirked wickedly as he watched Cooper’s eyes flash blue and metallic things started to levitate. Ben wanted the boy to get angry.

“Cooper don’t. He’s only trying to get under your skin so you can open his cell door. The watch may be locked, but Ben isn’t as useless as you may think he is without that watch. Just ignore him and don’t let him get to you.” Gwen commanded as she looked back at the boys.

The blonde instantly relaxed and went back to sit down at his desk, deciding to keep his cool by listening to music. Ben laughed loudly before leaning back on the stool and resting his head on the wall. Ben awoke in a new cell that was not on the ship. The teen arose from the cold bed and scanned the room for any clues to where he was. He searched the desk that was across the room and found nothing. He heard footsteps behind him and glanced back to see Gwen at his cell door. He closed the drawer and walked up to the bars with a slight smile on his face.

“How’d I end up here?”

“We drugged you when you fell asleep so we can easily transport you.”

“Hm. I never expected that from grandpa.”

“Actually it was my idea.”

Gwen gulped before looking her cousin in the eye. He exhaled through his nose quickly as a small smirk crawled onto his lips.

“Of course it was.” Ben laughed.

Ben turned around and began his walk back to his bed.

“This is just a holding cell before the trial on Monday. It’s a private appearance, so it’ll just be you and the three generals. They’re going to say that you broke several rules and regulations of Plumber Code, it’s your job to prove you did not. I can’t visit you until the verdict so this is goodbye till Monday.” Gwen explained.

“Okay.”

“Look Ben, I’m sorry it came to this. I really am. Have a good night.” Gwen added as she walked away from Ben’s cell. 

Ben laid down on his metal bed and looked up at the ceiling.

“Oh you’ll be sorry alright.” Ben muttered as he closed his eyes.

The hero continued to do the same routine everyday: wake up, workout, eat, mope about, eat, sleep. Ben felt his grasp on reality slipping as he was forced to do the same thing over and over again. Nobody else visited him, not even his own grandpa. The teenager knew he had to escape this place before he was trapped forever. Who knew what they were going to do to him. So as his days withered away, he used the extra time to come up with a plan. Ben was seated at his desk, putting the finishing touches on his escape plan when he heard a knocking on the cell bars behind him. He glanced back and saw his grandpa and cousin standing there awkwardly.

“I thought you told me that nobody can visit.” Ben spoke quietly.

“Well when you’re the most famous Plumber around then you get to pull some strings.” Max joked as he smiled at his grandson.

“Must be nice. Being famous and being able to do what you want with any repercussions.” Ben sneered back.

“Can you not be such a dick for once in your life? Grandpa practically got on his hands and knees to get us this opportunity. The least you can do is act like you care.” Gwen scolded her cousin.

“Hmm. Let me check my schedule.” Ben mocked as he glanced down at his watch, “Nope. Seems like I’m booked to be a dick till next week. How about grandpa get back on his hands and knees to ask for my release? Then I’ll REALLY care.” The hero added.

“Guys, that’s enough. This was supposed to be a family moment, Ben we came to wish you luck tomorrow. And regardless of the outcome, we will always support you.” Max cut in.

“I don’t want your sincerities. Get lost.” Ben spat as he turned back around at his desk.

Gwen had enough of Ben’s childish antics and she grabbed the cell bars as her eyes changed into bright pink and a pink aura covered her hands. She couldn’t believe that Ben would have the audacity to speak to grandpa like that after all he did for them. Max placed his hand on the girl’s shoulder and she immediately calmed down. Gwen looked up at her grandfather with sad eyes.

“But.”

“It’s okay, Gwen. Let’s just go.”

Max walked away from the cell with Gwen in tow to leave Ben to his thoughts. The teenage boy watched as his family left his cell door.  _ Good riddance.  _ Ben closed his eyes and hummed a Christmas tune, after all it’s only a month until the cheerful holiday. 

Ben didn’t know what time it was when he was woken up by a tapping on a metallic surface. He groaned and rolled over to block the sound but it only got louder until he heard his name being called.

“Fuck off, Gwen.” Ben snapped as he threw his pillow over his head.

“It’s not Gwen, boy. Open your eyes.” a deep voice whispered.

Ben immediately opened his eyes and stared at the dark entrance to his prison cell, he waited until his eyes adjusted and saw who was calling him. He raised an eyebrow at the Plumber Petrosapien, Tetrax Shard, standing at his door. The Plumber reminded him of his alien Diamondhead, but Shard always seemed annoyed when he brought up the similarities. 

“Tetrax? Why are you here?”

“It doesn’t matter, kid. We got five minutes until the cameras come back online so let’s get out of here.” Shard commanded as he pulled out a laser and cut through the cell bars.

“Don’t gotta tell me twice.” Ben replied as he jumped up and slipped his shoes on.

“Follow me.”

Ben hurried after the Plumber as they navigated through the long complex hallways and snuck past guards and turrets. Tetrax kept looking at his watch to see the time as they ducked into cover to let a patrol pass. 

“Believe it or not, they check on you frequently throughout the night. So it’s not going to be long before they realize you’re missing. I’m hoping we’re on my ship by then.” Shard whispered.

Ben nodded and followed the alien into another hallway that led to the ship bay. Ben widened his eyes at the amount of guards roaming in the bay and looked at Tetrax for guidance.

“Here, place this against your chest.” Tetrax said as he handed a triangular sleek black device to the boy.

Ben grabbed it and obeyed his instructions, the device humming and flashing blue as it whirred to life. It immediately covered his body with a standard Plumber outfit with a helmet to cover his face.  _ Nice.  _ Ben thought as he held onto the plasma rifle that was materialized into his hands. Tetrax motioned for the boy to follow close behind as they entered the ship bay. Ben smiled as he watched multiple squads pass them without so much as a “Hello”.The duo lurked closer to the ships and mechanics as not to be questioned. Tetrax opened his ship doors and beckoned the boy inside quickly. The alien glanced around before heading inside himself. He was just starting the ship when he heard the alarm go off, the area was flooded with flashing red lights as guards ran around to investigate the commotion. He wasn’t worried about the guards, he was much more worried about the lock-down doors that’ll close in 20 seconds. Tetrax didn’t have to wrap this up neat and tidy, the diamond man turned his ship turrets around and blasted the bay doors open. The ship roared to life as it began moving towards the exit. Guards were shouting commands to stop, but it was too late because the ship rocketed straight through the hole into space. 

“Too fucking easy.” Ben chuckled as he looked at the HQ disappearing in the distance. 

“The party ain’t over yet.” Tetrax said as he piloted.

“Seems to me that we’re LONG gone.” Ben joked.

“He’s right, Tennyson. The party has indeed just begun.” A mysterious voice called out behind them.

Ben spun around with the plasma rifle aimed at the direction of the voice. The teenage boy narrowed his eyes as he realized who it was. He’d know that white hair and red eyes anywhere.

“Albedo…” Ben growled as he stared at the evil copy of himself.


	5. New Girl

“Give me a good reason why I shouldn’t blow a hole in your chest right now.”

“I’ll give you one: he’s working with me so don’t.” Tetrax told the teenager.

Ben narrowed his eyes and slowly began pulling the trigger of the weapon.

“And he’s the only one who can fix the Omnitrix.”

Ben instantly relaxed at the mention of his watch and lowered the weapon, he got up and walked over to Albedo before sticking his arm out.

“Fix it.”

“You’re always in a rush, huh? Well unfortunately I can’t do anything to it until we get to my lab on Earth.”

“Why should I trust you?”

“You ever notice how I’m the only one in the room with a working Omnitrix now? I can easily crush you, but we have bigger matters at hand.” Albedo stated as he sat in his passenger seat.

Ben was satisfied with the Galvan’s answer. He sat back down in his seat and stared at the window at the numerous stars that covered the galaxy. The hero was happy that he was returning to Earth but now he was a wanted fugitive. The smile on his face turned into a frown as he looked down at the watch. Tetrax noticed the boy’s change in mood out of the corner of his eye.

“They’ll understand.”

“I highly doubt they will because they seemed pretty adamant about putting me on trial. I’m just worried that Gwen and grandpa Max are going to be blamed for this. I don’t want to cause them any more trouble.”

“Still putting your family first? That’s very noble of you, Ben.”

The rest of the ride was flown in silence until Tetrax landed near an abandoned factory in the middle of nowhere. Albedo walked past Ben, who was still staring out the window, and exited the ship with Tetrax. Ben followed soon after and looked around at the night sky.

“I’m surprised you didn’t take off running as soon as your feet touched Earth’s soil.” Albedo commented as he glanced back at the boy.

“Right now, my role as a hero is much more important than myself.”

Tetrax nodded and followed the Galvan into his factory. It looked old from the outside but Albedo had completely transformed the inside into a functioning lab and living quarters. Ben saw all types of alien technology and equipment scattered on tables, along with ideas and theories scrolled across white boards. Ben was shocked to say the least but he didn’t know Albedo had created such a massive lab.

“Don’t touch anything.” Albedo quickly stated as the group walked past his equipment into a back room. 

Ben saw all types of Omnitrix-related items and equipment, the Galvan must be still trying to return to his old form. He almost felt sorry for him. Almost. Albedo motioned the boy over to him and Ben followed suit. The evil twin grabbed the original’s arm and placed it on the table. Ben didn’t understand what was happening as the Galvan used different tools as he worked. It was five minutes of complete silence until Ben heard a clicking sound as the watch began to shift on its own.

“There. Try it now.”

Ben stepped back from the table and flipped through the aliens before picking Diamondhead. There was a green flash that enveloped the room and when it subsided, there was Ben standing tall as Diamondhead with a smile on his face. Ben reverted back and looked at the watch, it was still unlocked. 

“Thanks.”

“I didn’t do it for you.”

The group exited the room to return to the main area and Ben saw two familiar faces walking towards them.

Hello Ben, your watch seems to be fixed. Right on time too.” Paradox said as he checked his watch.

Ben wasn’t as shocked to see Paradox as he was for the person standing beside him.

“Hey Ben.” the girl chimed as she smiled and waved.

“Lucy? Lucy fucking Mann?” 

“Haha in the flesh.”

Ben had a hard time believing that the beautiful blonde standing in front of him was the same chick from that alien wedding disaster several years back. She looked stunning. Lucy had long blonde hair that she parted and flipped. Her light purple eyes shining in the lab room light. The makeup she applied brought out the highlights of her thin, oval face. She had lightly tanned skin instead of her usual white tone. She wore high waisted dark blue jeans that showed off her hips and her signature black graphic tee with a white star in the middle, the girl had checkered low top vans on. She had her nails done in purple with several bracelets hanging from her right wrist. Ben felt like he was going to start drooling if he continued to stare but he couldn’t help himself.  _ Damn, puberty hit her like a truck.  _ Ben told himself.

“It’s been a while.” Ben commented.

Ben felt nervous, like he was going through puberty all over again. Sure she was smoking hot, but he was a famous hero for fuck’s sake. He saved the universe more times than he can count! Yet here he was, the famous Ben Tennyson, afraid to speak to a girl. Lucy smiled deviously at the boy and Ben can feel himself blushing slightly.  _ Fuck! I forgot how much of a class clown she was.  _ Ben thought as he forced a smile back.

“Too fucking long.” Lucy laughed as she ran her fingers through her hair.

“Yeah…” Ben chuckled anxiously.

“Ahem. Now that, whatever that was, is done then I’d like to get back on track with the current objective.” Albedo cut in quickly.

Ben mentally sighed in relief as he got serious. He was ready to hear what was so important that they would break him out for it.

“Right. I never got an explanation of what’s going on.” The hero stated as he looked at Paradox.

“Vilgax. It seems that he’s working with a certain sorcerer to gain access to the celestial realm. Their plan is to steal the power from a celestial to gain omnipotence.”

“Lemme guess, the sorcerer is Hex? Well I killed him so problem solved.”

“You obviously didn’t kill Hex if we’re having this conversation, Ben. He managed to slip away before you landed the final blow.”

“Okay so even if that is true, then the problem still handles itself. If Vilgax and Hex enter the celestial realm, they’re going to get their ass fucking tortured by the warrior celestial guarding that place. I barely survived and I transformed into one of his SPECIES. They stand no chance.”

“That may be the case if they weren't going to use the Mantra Codius.”

“The what?”

“The device Charmcaster used on you, Gwen, and Kevin in that alternate reality to drain you guys of all your powers.”

“But that thing is in pieces. It’s rotting in the magic realm.”

“It can be fixed by one person: Charmcaster’s father.”

“He’s dead I thought.”

“Remember what grandpa Max briefed you on about Charmcaster and Hex?”

“That they were trying to gain access to the… the spirit realm.”

“Bingo.”

Ben never felt so scared in his life, if Vilgax gets his hands on the power of a celestial than it’s game over. They weren’t winning that fight in a million years. No matter who they had on their side.

“So what’s the plan?” Ben asked.

“We stop them before they get to the celestial realm. By any means necessary.” Tetrax replied coldly. 

Ben knew what he implied and the boy had no problem with it. It was about time that Vilgax got what was coming to him. The hero cracked his knuckles in anticipation as he smiled to himself. He wanted this more than anyone. All the bullshit that monster put him through, he was itching for a chance at payback. Real payback. 

“Yes stop them, if only it was that easy. We don’t know where they are and Hex’s niece disappeared from the hospital two days ago and not a single person even remembers any patient named Hope ever entering.” Paradox explained.

“So we go look for someone who does.” Ben said confidently.

“I plan to send some time looking through a couple timelines. And Tetrax, if I’m not mistaken, you are going with Albedo to fetch some supplies from a nearby galaxy. So that leaves Ben with Lucy. I suggest you guys start checking old hideouts for clues, tomorrow.”

“Sounds like a plan.” Ben replied as everyone nodded in agreement.

“Ben, if you go through that door then you’ll find sleeping arrangements, a kitchen, and bathroom filled with human necessities. Don’t touch my things while I’m gone.” Albedo explained before following Tetrax towards the exit.

“I trust that both of you will act accordingly.” Paradox commented before disappearing.

Ben didn’t really know what the time traveler meant by that, so he decided to ignore it. The teenager was pulled from his thoughts when he heard the door slam shut. He glanced at Lucy, who was strolling through her phone, before heading in the direction of the kitchen. When he didn’t see much to eat in the room, he settled on a granola bar. The boy was chewing on his snack as he looked through his missed calls and messages from Julie. Ben felt terrible about this whole thing because Julie was probably heart-broken. He needed to let her know that he was okay.

“Anything good?” Lucy asked as she walked into the kitchen.

“Don’t get your hopes up.” Ben replied as he held up his snack.

“Oh kill me now. You think I could get a pizza delivered out here?” Lucy laughed as she pulled her phone out.

“Absolutely not. Where are you gonna tell him to come? The old abandoned factory in the desert? That doesn’t sound sketchy at all.” Ben joked.

“Haha you’re right! I just wish I could eat something” The girl laughed out loud at Ben’s sarcasm.

_ Oh I’ll give you something to eat, sweetheart  _ Ben told himself as he looked the blonde up and down from the corner of his eye.  _ Whoa. Where’d that come from? You have a girlfriend, Tennyson!  _ Ben thought as he continued to munch on his food. 

“So what’s up with you? Still dating that chick? What was her name? Jenny?” 

“Julie. And yes haha. What about you? Got anyone special?”

“Eh. I was seeing this kid last year but that didn’t last. It turns out that not every guy can get their dicks hard over a sludge monster. He broke it off when I was considerate enough to show him my true form. That’s what I get for caring I guess.” Lucy said nonchalantly as she looked at her nails.

“Uh yeah. Julie doesn’t like it when I transform into Four Arms when we’re having sex either.” Ben told the blonde.

She stared at him with a frown before smiling and bursting out in a full-on laugh attack. 

“HAHA! Oh GOD, Ben. I’d be terrified if a bright red two foot cock was in my face, too. They say bigger is better, but that might be a little too BIG! HAHA! Holy fuck that is too funny, Ben. Bravo, you got me out of my shitty mood.” Lucy said as she wiped away her tears of laughter.

“Sweet. What’s my prize?” Ben laughed at Lucy’s silly behavior.

The girl’s facial expression changed from a smile to a seductive smirk as she got up from her seat and sat on top of the table in front of the teen. She placed her finger under his chin and looked him in his eyes.

“Mmm whatever you want.” Lucy cooed into Ben’s ear. 

She giggled when she noticed the blush that spread across his face and gave him a wink before sauntering out.

“I’m gonna go take a shower. Don’t wait up.” 

The girl left Ben with the most confused look on his face and a slight hard-on. 

“What the fuck just happened?” Ben said aloud.

The teen got up from his chair and searched for the bedrooms. He found one at the end of the hallway with a simple bed and blanket.  _ This’ll do.  _ Ben thought as he slumped onto the bed. The boy didn’t realize how tired he was until his face hit the pillow and he immediately passed out. 


	6. Pressure

Ben moaned as he slowly opened his eyes, he felt like he got two seconds of sleep. The shitty mattress only made matters worse for the tired teen. He yawned and rolled over, the boy noticed a presence beside him in bed. Ben opened his eyes again and saw the familiar blonde snoozing next to him, she was snoring lightly and her hair was in a messy bun. The hero yelped before rolling off the bed onto the floor with a thud. Ben groaned loudly when he hit the hardwood.

“Ben? You okay, dude?” Lucy called out as she lazily peered out from atop the bed.

“Am I okay? What are you doing in my bed?”

The girl sighed heavily before getting off the mattress and picking her bra up from the floor. She turned away from Ben and put her bra on from underneath her tank top. 

“It was too cold anywhere else in the factory so I thought why not share the warmth.”

“Did we? Did we uh…”

“Did we fuck? Haha no dude. All we did was share a bed.” Lucy laughed as she grabbed her backpack from a corner.

“I wasn’t going to say that!” Ben protested as he stood up and fixed himself.

“Whatever. Go take a shower cause you stink and I will be researching places to go today.”

Ben sniffed his armpit and shrugged before exiting the room in the direction of the shower. The boy entered the cold shower and closed his eyes,  _ My trial was supposed to be today,  _ Ben thought as he scrubbed himself. The boy wondered what Gwen and grandpa Max were doing right now. Were they looking for him?  _ Or are they being tortured for information on me?  _ Ben shook that thought from his head and continued to shower. He was interrupted by several loud noises and yelling.

“LUCY? YOU GOOD?” Ben screamed over the water.

He got nervous when he heard no response. Maybe she didn’t hear him.  _ Eh. She probably just broke something  _ Ben told himself as he stepped out of the shower. He noticed a set of clothing on the counter. It was his usual attire, but red, this was Albedo’s clothes. Ben decided to use them until he can get home and switch out. He quickly dried himself and tried the clothes on, it was a perfect fit. He was fixing his hair as he stepped out of the bathroom. The hallway was unusually quiet. Ben slowly walked over to the closed door. He heard talking from the other side. It was Lucy and another voice speaking.

“Where is the boy?”

“You just missed him.”

“Where is he going?”

“Ha! As if I’d tell you that, pig.”

Ben heard the crackling of electricity and Lucy’s screams of pain.

“HEY! I told you not to fucking taze her!” a familiar female voice shouted.

Ben didn’t have time to figure it out as he kicked the door open. He saw several plumbers swarmed around the room, Gwen with a shocked expression on her face, and Lucy handcuffed on the ground with a bloody lip.

“Hey babe, it took you long enough.” Lucy laughed with a wink.

“Ben? What are you wearing?” Gwen asked, confused, as she stepped forward. 

“That’s the escapee! You have your orders, shoot on sight!” A plumber announced.

The room was suddenly filled with blaster noises as plasma weapons were shot at the teen. Ben jumped and rolled behind a lab setup to avoid the plasma beams. It was a full 30 seconds before the Plumbers ceased fire and waited for further instructions.

“WHAT ARE YOU DOING? THAT’S MY COUSIN!” Gwen screamed at the captain of the squad.

“Sorry ma’am. We have our orders. Collect the body!” The captain replied.

Two plumbers walked slowly towards the lab setup with their weapons pointed at the cover. They were a couple feet away when a green flash blinded them, the soldiers stepped away with their hands over their eyes. They weren’t able to notice the green goo on the floor slithering towards them. Goop jumped up and encased one of the Plumber’s heads in his acidic self. The plumber was sudden engulfed in intense pain as he spasmed, his finger pulling the trigger of his weapon as he flailed around. The rogue shot hit the Plumber next to him in the chest and the impact flung him into another lab desk that knocked over an experiment that exploded as soon as it made contact with oxygen. Ben reverted Goop into his full form and let the squad waste their time shooting his goo body. He watched the guns overheat in the soldier’s hands as they looked around for guidance. Ben lifted his arms and extended his slime hands towards the closest Plumbers and encased them in his acid before slamming them into the wall with severe burns on their bodies. Goop liquified and traveled quickly across the floor. He reformed behind the soldiers and stuck his hand to a table and swung it towards the squad. It collided with four people and knocked them against more lab equipment. The captain hid behind a desk and called for backup on his radio. Ben transformed back into human, immediately changing into XLR8 and grabbed Lucy from the floor and sped out of the room. The squad of Plumbers were left utterly destroyed with Gwen standing amongst the chaos in complete shock.

Ben ran towards the town of Bellwood and made sure to avoid any more forms of authority. He zipped down his street and into his house, setting the injured girl on the couch. He reverted back to his normal self and looked down at the unconscious Lucy. 

“Yeah I was going a little fast.” Ben told himself as he collapsed in a chair from exhaustion.

Ben was drifting off until he heard the blonde’s voice.

“It was a little fast but nothing an alien can’t handle.” Lucy chuckled as she stood up.

Ben watched her hands transform into dark purple slime to let the handcuffs slip off before restoring her hands. 

“You were a badass out there, Ben. Never thought you had it in you.” 

“You were right.”

“Huh?”

“It HAS been too long since we’ve seen each other.” Ben stated as he walked into the kitchen.

Ben grabbed two bananas and returned to the living room, he tossed a banana to Lucy and sat back in his seat. They ate in silence for a couple minutes.

“How’d they find us?” Lucy asked.

“Gwen. She can track us if she has our belongings. The chick is a damn bloodhound.”

Lucy finished her snack and looked at her phone.

“Pierce texted me, he’s gonna meet up with us at Mr. Smoothie in ten minutes.”

“Pierce? Isn't he a junior Plumber with Manny and them?” 

“He quit a while ago.”

“And you trust him?”

“More than you know.” 

Ben nodded and walked to the door with Lucy behind him. The teen opened the front door to a surprised Julie who was about to knock.

“Ben?”


	7. Pressure PT 2

“Oh hey Julie” Ben greeted nervously.

Julie looked at Ben, then at Lucy, then back at Ben.

“Oh hey Julie? Are you serious? People take you away in handcuffs to God knows where for several days! I have no clue what the hell is going on and all you say is Oh hey Julie?”

“Well to be fair I just got back. It was kinda a crazy week for me.” Ben chuckled anxiously.

“Ben-. Ugh. Ben, why didn’t you tell me about what happened with Kevin?” 

Ben narrowed his eyes at the girl.

“Because it’s none of your business.”

“None of my business? I’ve known you guys for how long? I’ve gone on how many adventures with you? And you’re telling me that I didn’t deserve to know that you killed your best friend?”

Ben was starting to get irritated.  _ Why did Gwen have to run her big mouth  _ Ben thought as he walked past Julie onto his sidewalk. 

“Ben. Why are you doing this? What’s going on? Let me help you.” The girl pleaded with her boyfriend.

“If you would excuse me, I gotta go do hero things.” Ben replied as he jumped in his car.

“It’s not fair! We’re supposed to be a couple, yet I always get left in the dark. Don’t you remember? We promised each other that we’d tackle this hero thing together. Now several months later, I’m sitting in my house wondering if you’re gonna come home in a FUCKING bodybag.”

Julie had tears rolling down her cheeks at this point, but she kept her glare directed at the hero.

“Don’t you get it? The reason behind not having thousands of friends? They’re liabilities! Gwen and Kevin are exceptions because they have POWERS! They can defend themselves if the villains we face come after them, even then I STILL had to go save them multiple times. Why do I always leave you in the dark? So that the fucking monsters that I fight everyday CAN’T find you. This isn’t a fucking tennis match where if you mess up then you can possibly lose. IF I MESS UP, people will die. That’s why I can’t afford to have friends because this watch took up everything I had!”

“So what now? You’re just gonna run away?”

“What?”

“Ben, I know they didn’t just LET you go.”

Lucy quickly transformed into her sludge form to confront the girl.

“You traitorous bitch!” she growled.

“Wait! Lucy, stop!” Ben shouted.

Lucy returned to normal as Ben stepped out of the car.

“What are you trying to say, Julie?”

“Don’t make me do this, Ben. Please.”

“Do what?”

“Please don’t make me.”

“Julie?”

“I’m sorry.”

A small animal-like creature darted from the bushes into Julie’s arms, it was black with a white underbelly and had green marking all over it.  _ Ship.  _ Ben thought as he stepped back. The pet growled at him before absorbing Julie’s body and transforming into a ten foot tall mech suit. Julie’s face appeared at the top of the suit covered by a helmet. The girl cocked her arm back and slammed her fist into the ground near the duo, causing concrete to explode outward. Lucy jumped up onto the hood of Ben’s car to avoid being crushed as Ben rolled backwards onto the street. He recovered and was looking through his watch for the perfect alien. He smiled once he found it and ran forward.

“Watch the paint!” Ben yelled at the girl as he slammed down on his watch.

Humungousaur charged into battle as he grew to be the size of Julie’s suit. He dodged underneath Julie’s arm before grabbing it and Judo flipping her over his shoulder. She tried to get up but Ben turned and used his tail to smack her back down. The mech suit was lying face down as Ben knelt and punched the back of the machine.

“Sorry Julie, I’m in a bit of a rush so I can’t go easy on you.” Ben mumbled.

A green light emerged from the back of the suit as a massive laser shot out, grazing the side of Humungousaur’s face. The alien bellowed in agony as he stumbled back, clutching his face with his hand. The teen had no time to recover as Julie jumped up and hit him with several quick punches before firing off another beam into Ben’s chest that sent him flying back into his house.

“Okay now I’m mad.” 

Ben attempted to stand but Julie rocketed forward to interlock hands with him to keep him down. After a few moments of struggling, Humungousaur started to grow in size as he pushed the girl back and regained his footing. He grew until he was three times the size of Julie’s mech and Ben pinned the girl down, he grabbed the battery that powered the mech and started to rip it out. The hero grimaced from pain as the battery attempted to defend itself by trying to shoot off another laser, Ben felt his hand starting to burn severely as he used all his strength to tear the power supply out. Humungousaur roared when he finally ripped the battery out. The laser almost severed his hand as he fell back onto his butt. The boy dropped the extremely hot battery as he transformed back into his human form. He was huffing and puffing as he looked over at Julie who was cradling a dying Ship. It was beeping and moaning as the green markings on his body went dark and it laid there unmoving. Ben watched tears stream down Julie’s face and she looked over at the hero with the most sorrowful expression. Ben was laced with guilt for his girlfriend, but he didn’t have time to mope as Lucy helped him up quickly and dragged him to his car before throwing him in and rushing over to the driver’s side. Lucy peeled out of the driveway, and Ben got one more look at Julie’s sullen face as she stared at him, and zoomed off towards Mr. Smoothie. Ben rubbed his burnt hand softly, he was hissing from the sharp pains that shot up his fingers. Lucy looked over at Ben with a worried look and sad eyes.

“You gonna be okay?”

“Yeah…”

“You did what you had to do. She wasn’t going to stop until you went down.”

“I thought Julie would be the last person I’d use my powers on.” Ben murmured as he held his head down in shame.

“Don’t give yourself too much credit. The watch attached to your wrist HAS powers. You were ten when it was slapped on your wrist and you were expected to be a hero. There’s a lot of things that you didn’t think were going to happen. The only thing that matters is that you bounce back from it. I’m sure Julie will understand once all this is over and you explain to her that you were just saving the universe. Again.”

Ben smiled weakly as Lucy patted him on the shoulder and flashed her signature smirk.

“You’re Ben fucking Tennyson, cheer up.”

Lucy focused on driving down the highway as Ben chuckled at her comment.  _ She’s right, I gotta bounce back.  _ Ben told himself as he wrapped his hand up in some cloth. Lucy pulled into the Mr. Smoothie lot and parked in the very back. The pair scanned the area for any sign of Pierce, but the parking lot was eerily empty. Ben slowly stepped out of the car and looked around again, he peered inside the windows of his favorite restaurant and saw nobody in the building. 

“Looking for this rodent?” a voice shouted from above them.

A body crashed onto the hood of Ben’s car, it was Pierce and he looked really bad. The teen had bruises covering every inch of his face with blood seeping out of the cuts on his busted lips. The mutant’s arm was bent in the opposite direction and there was a gash along his right leg that gave you a gnarly look at his bone. Ben saw his chest rising very slow and he knew that Pierce did not have a lot of time, he needed medical attention now. Lucy took one glance at her wounded friend and her face went from horrified to outraged, the girl’s eyes turned a vibrant purple as she looked up to see who the attacker was. Lucy saw deep purple eyes staring right back down at her and the blonde hissed as she noticed who it was.

“I saw him lurking behind the dumpster like rats do and I couldn’t help, but to think that I should take out the trash.” Charmcaster spat at the blonde.

“Ben, take care of Pierce. This bitch is mine.” Lucy snarled as she transformed into her alien form.

Charmcaster landed a couple feet away and tossed small balls from her bag that changed into golems.

“Oh honey, I’m flattered but this isn’t about you. This is about Ben breaking my FUCKING ARM!” 

The golems rushed towards the boy who was holding up Pierce, but they didn’t make it very far as a stream of sludge T-boned one of the golems into the other; launching them into a street light. The golems scrambled to get up but were interrupted by Lucy slamming her massive gooey fist into them. They became trapped in her sludge as the blonde pulled them back towards her and whipped them in the direction of the witch. Charmcaster used a spell to become intangible as her guardians flew past her into the street filled with heavy traffic. People began screaming and running out of their cars as they witnessed the battle take place. The sorceress groaned in annoyance as she waved her wand. 

“You’re starting to get on my nerves, so disappear for me will ya?” 

Two cars floated upwards and rocketed towards the girl on either side of her. She had no time to get away as the vehicles sandwiched her. Ben gasped as he watched his friend be crushed by the cars. Charmcaster grinned sadistically as purple ooze spurted out onto the ground. The spellcaster walked up to the puddle of goo and started to laugh maniacally.

“You see what happens when you fucking cross me, Benjamin?” The woman snarled at the hero, “Now that little pocket pussy of yours is nothing but slime!” she added sharply.

“AGH! CHARMCASTER, I’M GONNA KILL YOU!” Ben boomed as he slammed his hand down on his watch.

Ben transformed into Four-Arms as he tried to charge the woman. He glanced down when he realized he couldn’t move and saw thick vines tangled around his legs. He began to angrily rip at them but they kept coming through the cracks in the ground until they overwhelmed him and wrapped completely around his body. Charmcaster smiled as she walked closer to the hero.

“No. You’re not.” She stated as she looked him in the eyes.

Nobody noticed the puddle of sludge trembling when the witch walked over it, it continued to shake before quietly swirling up into the air around the witch and forming into Lucy. The blonde had Charmcaster in a headlock with a sinister smile on her face.

“We can agree on one thing. He’s not going to kill you.” Lucy whispered in the caster’s ear.

Charmcaster gasped as she felt something penetrate her back and she peered down to see a long purple spike poking out of her stomach. Lucy clamped her hand over her mouth to muffle her scream as the spike grew in thickness, it ripped through her stomach and destroyed her organs. Charmcaster felt everything as the rod cut through her stomach. Lucy held her firmly until she stopped moving completely. The blond released the witch and let her drop to her knees before falling to the side dead. Charmcaster laid there with widened eyes and tears on her cheeks. Lucy reverted the spike back into her hand and stood there silently with blood all over her. The vines around Ben withered away and the hero changed back into human. Lucy walked past him to the car with the intent of checking on Pierce.

“I was able to wrap up his leg, but he needs to get to the hospital for everything else.” Ben said as he peered over Lucy’s shoulder.

“Then let’s go.”

Ben raised an eyebrow but didn’t say anything, he jumped in the driver’s seat as Lucy hopped in the passenger side and they took off towards the Bellwood hospital.

A nurse on break was walking along the sidewalk with an apple when she saw a bloodied man on the ground. She ran into Urgent Care and called for nurses and doctors, they had nurses get him onto a stretcher and wheel him inside the building. The nurse looked around before traveling back inside to help. Ben and Lucy sat in a parking space with the car off witnessing the nurses help Pierce. When everyone retreated inside, they pulled out of the spot and headed back onto the highway. They had nowhere to go, Their hideout was compromised, Pierce is half dead, their only lead is dead, They have no communications with the rest of the team, the Plumbers are on to them. Ben mentally agreed that this was the worst day ever. 

“So where to now?” Ben asked.

“We can go to my old hideout. I shared it with Pierce and a couple other kids. It’s off of Bethany ave.”

“The old factory?” 

“Yeah. How’d you know?”

“Kevin and I had our first fight there when we were kids.”

Ben turned at the light and sped off in the direction of the factory.

“Funny cause that’s where Pierce and I first met.”


	8. Closer

Ben pulled onto the gravel driveway that led to the old building and put the car in park. The pair got out and surveyed the land carefully, looking for any traps left for them. Once they were satisfied with inspection, Ben followed Lucy inside to check out the place. It wasn’t much; a mattress on the floor and a couch with a mini fridge nearby.   
“It’s not much but at least you don’t have to sleep on the concrete floor.” Lucy commented happily.  
Ben laughed as he collapsed on the couch in a huff. He was mentally exhausted from all of today’s events. He glanced around the dim building and saw that everything was completely intact for the most part. It was like this place wasn’t touched by time from all those years ago. He watched Lucy disappear into a backroom and he closed his eyes. Ben hoped Tetrax and Paradox had a better day than them. Albedo was going to be pissed that his lab was partially destroyed. Ben cycled through his watch and looked through all the aliens he had in his collection. He stopped on a particular one. I can end this whole thing with a simple thought Ben told himself as he stared at the picture of Alien X on his watch. The teen fingered the watch’s controls slowly as he asked himself if he should do it. Nobody would ever know. I can change it back to normal.   
“Damn Ben, what’re you thinking about?” Lucy echoed as she stepped back into the room.  
Ben was ripped from his thoughts as he looked up at the smiling blonde, she had a new pair of jeans and a hoodie on.  
“N-nothing!” Ben replied quickly.   
Lucy skipped forward and sat beside the hero on the couch.  
“I smell bullshit!” The girl sang sweetly.  
“I’m just thinking about life.” Ben laughed.  
The blond raised an eyebrow at the boy’s silly comment.  
“Life? You’re 17, dude. Com’n, lay it on me!”  
“Haha well okay, I was thinking about Alien X.”  
Lucy had a look of confusion on her face as she kicked her legs up under her.  
“He’s the celestial being alien, the one who can create new universes with the snap of his fingers. When I change into him, my physical body is frozen in place and my consciousness is sent to this void with these massive theatre masks that represent everything in the universe and the opposite of it. Like good and bad. Or positive and negative. Just real ying and yang type shit. When I go to confront these two and present my problem, they bicker and argue and I’m supposed to be the middleman. It’s almost impossible to get these two to agree on anything but if you do… Then your problem is fixed instantaneously, doesn’t matter how big or small. I’m not the best at being the voice of reason, but I can bullshit them into agreeing to my terms.”  
“And you just have this guy sitting in your backpocket?”  
“Correct. I try not to use him unless it’s an absolute emergency but…”  
“But?”  
“I can also use him to PREVENT tragedies. I mean we don’t know where Hex and Vilgax are, they can be on their way to the Forge of Creation already. If Vilgax gets his hands on this power then this universe will cease to exist and will be replaced with a new one where he contr- no. That’s not evil enough for him, he’ll probably travel the universe with the intent of conquering every galaxy until he gets to Earth and I can promise you that Earth will get the worse of it.”  
“I mean there’s the three-man compromise failsafe right? He can’t do anything unless he gets the approval of the others.”  
“That won’t be a problem for Vilgax. He’s a master manipulator who can trick anyone into falling for his schemes. He almost tricked me into neutralizing all evil from the universe. It would be a cake-walk for him in there.”  
“Destroying all evil in the world? That doesn’t seem like a bad thing.”  
“Because it’s not. But who am I to take away free-will from everyone. It felt like I was one of those fucking puppets in the celestial’s mind and Gwen and Kevin were my voice of reason. I almost made the wrong choice that day and that’s why I’m hesitant to use anything that gives me absolute power including Alien X.”  
“If you were to use Alien X in this situation, what would you do with it?”  
“I wouldn’t kill them. Maybe take a key component out of their plan, like remove the Mantra Codius from existence. Or create an immovable barrier between the Forge of Creation and ours. Something that’ll stop them in their tracks.”  
“But what if they use another device to absorb the power? Or find another way to get their hands on a celestial being? The point is that there are too many variables for you to only remove one component, you have to completely destroy any hope of them completing their plan. And what about you? Sure you’d stop Vilgax, but you STILL escaped from jail! And attacked Plumbers! Your friends and family might understand, but the Plumbers are a corporation; they exist to enforce rules and regulations. They won’t empathize with you.”  
“A hero’s job is to save people, not his own skin.”  
“Ben…” Lucy whimpered as she looked up at him with sad eyes.  
“Hey, WHAT IF the Plumbers let me go?” Ben mocked as he flashed a goofy smile at the blonde.  
Lucy giggled at the joke before staring into Ben’s green eyes. She closed the distance between them slowly before whispering,   
“I’m down for whatever you decide.”  
Ben made the final move and planted his lips gently on the blonde’s. She had the softest lips in the world, it felt like marshmallows and tasted like strawberries. The scent of cherry blossoms from her hair and her sweet smelling perfume filled his nostrils. Ben deepened the kiss, earning him a small moan from Lucy. She was enjoying every second of this, she loved his boyish musk mixed in with cologne and the soft roughness of his lips. Lucy wanted more but she didn’t want to ruin the moment. Fuck it she told herself as she bit the teen’s lower lip and licked it feverishly. Ben parted his lips and their tongues tangled together in a hot battle for dominance. The boy fell back onto the couch and Lucy saddled him as they continued to french kiss passionately. Ben grabbed the blonde’s thin waist and squeezed it slightly, he loved the sounds Lucy were emitting into his mouth. Lucy cupped the hero’s face as she hungrily kissed him and grinded against his stomach in hopes that he’d notice her dampening panties. Ben was dealing with his own “problems” as he felt his jeans tighten, he lowered his hands slowly to the girl’s round ass and squeezed it hard; causing Lucy to break the kiss and moan loudly. Ben took this as an opportunity to leave kisses along the blonde’s neck, running his tongue across her jugular and sucked sweetly on her pulse. Lucy purred the hero’s name in his ear as he had his way with her neck, she ran her hand through his hair as she closed her eyes.  
“Am I interrupting something?”   
Ben groaned as Lucy yelped and jumped off the hero. She was blushing furiously as she stared at the time traveler. Ben looked over lazily at Paradox with a frown on his face.  
“Ben, can I talk to you for a minute?” The man asked as he pointed to the door.  
Ben got off the couch and walked over to the front door with the scientist. They took in the cool air of the night and Ben adjusted his clothes.  
“We found Vilgax, he’s inside the realm of magic without Hex for some reason. We don’t know if they had a falling out or just split up responsibilities. This might be the time to confront them while they’re alone.”  
“Vilgax is the type to let everyone else do the work and be the one to reap the benefits. He’s like the final boss of a video game. You don’t face him until you beat everyone else.”  
“Well we’re going straight to the end. Can you beat him if I can get you there?”  
“You’re the one who can see the future, can I?”   
“The future isn’t set in stone, if I tell you what happens then it won’t happen.”  
“So what’s the plan?”  
“We’re gonna hit him tomorrow and hope Hex doesn’t show up. Tetrax has something to destroy the Mantra Codius, and we’ll beat Vilgax. Two birds with one stone.”  
Cool, we’ll be ready.” Ben said as he turned around to go back inside.  
“Hey Ben, do you need me to rewind so you can get back to Lucy with no interruptions?”  
“You’re not allowed to do that.”  
“As long as you know I’m not allowed to do so.” Paradox chuckled as he disappeared.  
Ben sighed and walked back inside, he noticed Lucy was knocked out on the couch. The teenager smiled at the blonde beauty and laid down on the mattress. He wrapped the sheet around him and closed his eyes. Ben couldn’t sleep so he settled on leaning against the wall outside and looked up at the stars. He didn’t regret what he did, but he did regret letting it happen during the shitty situation they were stuck in. Ben thought about Julie and he instantly felt guilty, it wasn’t cool to cheat on her like this. He needed to tell her his true feelings. Ben groaned as he held his head in his hands, he didn’t notice the light purple sad eyes of the blonde looking at him from the window.


	9. Surprise Attack

Ben felt the warm rays of the sun caressing his face as he lazily opened his eyes. He was laying on the mattress, but he can barely remember coming back inside last night. The teen was extremely groggy as he attempted to get up, his head was pounding like he was guzzling alcohol the night before. He stumbled a bit before fixing himself, he searched around for Lucy and saw no sign of her. Ben strolled over to a wooden door that he could have sworn was not there before. He examined the fine wood of the door before twisting it’s knob, the door flew open and Ben wandered inside. It was pitch dark inside of the room and Ben felt around for a light switch. The only light protruding into the room was from the hallway, but that was quickly snuffed out by the door slamming shut. It was several seconds before a blinding white light filled the room and blinded the boy. Ben covered his eyes till the brightness subsided and he was back in the main room of the factory again. A gurgling and choking sound coming from behind made the hero spin around to be met with a horrible sight. Vilgax was standing there with Lucy hostered up by her neck, his claws strangling the life out of the girl. She kicked and grabbed at his arms but it was no use as the villain choked her. Ben tried to run forward to save Lucy but it felt like he was sprinting through syrup. He slammed his hand down on his watch with no results and he started to scream Lucy’s name. He heard a dark chuckle from his left and he noticed Hex was there with a smile on his face, he had Gwen underneath his foot. He wanted to cry as he watched Gwen attempt to get up as she was pressed down further into the ground. He dropped to his knees when he heard the sickening crack of his cousin’s neck as Hex stomped on her throat. Ben felt tears running down his face, the images before him disappeared and he was in another dark room again. He sobbed violently over the death of Gwen. The hero never felt so helpless in his entire life. 

“Dread it.” a voice whispered.

Ben opened his eyes as he recognized the deep voice. It was suddenly morning again and he was slumped over on the porch.  _ Did I seriously sleep out here?  _ Ben asked himself, he was sore from sleeping on the concrete and his throat was dry. He stood up and walked back inside to find an empty couch, the boy immediately got worried as his mind went back to the dream.

“Lucy!” The hero yelled into the factory.

“What’s up?” the blonde said as she peered out from another room.

“You okay?”

“Yeah haha, but I know you’re not because you slept on the fucking concrete last night, you psychopath.” 

“I went out for some fresh air and never came back.” Ben laughed as he cracked his neck.

Lucy pursed her lips and looked at the smiling Ben with doubt.

“Seriously though, you were mumbling in your sleep. Is everything okay? I know all this shit kinda blew up in your face at once.”

“Well about last night-.”

“Didn’t happen.”

“What?”

“It was a mistake. We were both under a lot of stress and it was a spur of the moment sorta thing and we can leave it at that.”

“Lucy I-.”

“I said drop it.” Lucy growled as she glared at the hero.

Ben threw his hands up in surrender before moving on to another subject.

“Paradox told me that we’re gonna ambush Vilgax in the magic realm today.”

“Yeah I know, he came around earlier to see if you were awake and he explained everything to me. He said he’ll be back with Tetrax in a bit.”

“What about Albedo?”

“Albedo and Tetrax had a deal. And now that that deal is over. Don’t expect him to help us out of the kindness in his heart, remember he IS your enemy.”

Ben frowned slightly as he looked over his clothes that he borrowed from the alien.

“Doesn’t surprise me.” Ben said quietly.

The boy exited the room and headed over to his car, he sat on the hood and checked his phone. He scrolled through the messages he shared with Julie, he smiled at the happier texts they sent a few weeks ago and now it's just filled with her spamming his name and asking where he is. He sighed and pressed the call button, it rang a couple times before he heard someone pick up.

“Ben?” Julie’s soft voice murmured.

“Yeah, it’s me. How are you doing?”

“Fine.”

“I meant about Ship’s de-”

“When are you going to come home?” the girl interrupted.

“I can’t come home. You know that.”

“I KNOW that you can’t keep running from the Plumbers, Ben. The commanders are getting impatient, they’re talking about killing you.”

“...”

“Don’t you care?”

“Uh.”

“I don’t know about you, but there’s a lot of people that w-would care if you died and I-I don’t know what I would do if-” Julie stammered out.

Ben heard her choking up and sniffling over the mic and felt terrible, he hated making Julie cry. 

“Julie, I’m sorry.”

“Of course you are. You do this shit and you think FUCKING APOL-ahem-. Goodbye Ben.” 

The hero heard the click as the line went dead. He sighed deeply and jumped off his car before tossing his phone at the wall as hard as he could. Ben watched it smash on the ground and the screen shatter into tiny pieces. A green flash filled the lot and Armodrillo appeared in Ben’s place, the yellow alien ran over to an abandoned graffitied box truck and slammed his massive fist into it. He continued to pummel the truck with punches until it was nothing but bent and twisted metal. He roared as he unleashed one more punch that flipped the truck onto its side. Armodrillo transformed back into a crying Ben with his arm resting against the underbelly of the truck and his head hung down as tears dropped from his eyes onto the ground. Lucy watched the saddened hero from the window and couldn’t help but feel bad. The guy had everything and it was slowly being taken away from him. She walked back to the couch and sat down as she heard Ben walk into the factory again. He dried his tears but his eyes were red and puffy, Lucy immediately noticed his mental state and flashed him her signature smile. 

“Let’s go.”

“We need to wait for Paradox.” Lucy replied.

“Worry not for I have arrived. And it seems that Ben is awake as well.” The time traveler announced. 

The pair looked to the scientist who just teleported in with Tetrax. 

“If we still want the element of surprise then we better go now.” Paradox stated as he looked at his time piece. 

The group nodded in agreement as Paradox snapped his fingers and a blue beam of light zapped them away.

Helen peered in at the spot ,they were in, from the window and activated her communication headset.

“They left. They were talking about going somewhere.” 

“Where?” Grandpa Max asked quickly.

“I don’t know. Paradox was saying if they still wanted the element of surprise then they better go now.”

“Shit.”

“You think they’re attacking HQ?”

“No. These are our comrades we’re talking about. They wouldn’t hurt us. It must be some enemy hideout. Get back to base, we’re gonna have Gwen track them again.”

The group reappeared in a purple warped dimension on top of a cliff. Ben looked around the familiar place and noticed a machine a couple hundred feet below them. He also noticed a tall figure standing nearby and the boy immediately frowned. He knew who that was.

“So, what’s the plan?” Lucy asked as she looked around the group.

“I’ll collect what information I can from the device, I want you to turn into your alien form and slip into the internals of the Mantra and expand to destroy any essential parts inside. Ben and Tetrax will distract Vilgax and keep him away from us. We aren’t here to beat Vilgax, we want to ruin his plan. Everyone understand?” Paradox explained quickly. 

Lucy and Tetrax nodded but Ben was nowhere to be found. Lucy sporadically searched the area for him before looking over the cliff to see the hero falling through the air.

“BEN!” Lucy whisper-screamed at the teen.

“God fucking dammit.” Tetrax snapped as he jumped off the cliff after the boy.

Ben slammed down on his watch and quickly transformed into Cannonbolt, the alien changed into its ball form as he smashed down on top of Vilgax. There was dust and debris clouding the air as the impact cracked the ground underneath them. Tetrax changed his hand into a spike and stabbed the wall of rock behind him to slow his descent before landing on the ground. Paradox teleported himself and Lucy onto the ground, the blonde ran forward to see if Ben was okay. She watched Ben jump out from the crater and transform again into a red flying alien. Jetray soared into the air before spinning around and unleashing his lethal lasers from his eyes and tail at the hole he just created. The sudden burst of energy exploded and sent a dust cloud in all directions. The group covered their faces to prevent the dust from filling their eyes. Lucy coughed as she tried to find Ben, the hero landing beside her as Swampfire.

“Ben! What have you done?” Paradox snapped at the alien.

“I had a plan. Attack.” Swampfire replied sharply. 

The dust settled and a deep laughter came from the pit that Ben had created, Vilgax grabbed the edge of the hole and pulled himself up onto higher ground.

“I expected more out of you, Ben Tennyson. To think you would fall for the trap. That sorcerer is more clever than he lets on. He said that if I was to make my presence known then you’d eventually follow. But for you to actually show, you must be dumber than I first thought, human.”

Swampfire narrowed his eyes at his arch nemesis and ignited his hands.

“I wouldn’t bother trying. That machine isn’t real, it hasn’t been for a couple hundred years.” Vilgax announced as he glanced at the sneaking scientist.

Paradox stopped in his tracks as he watched the Mantra Codius shimmer and disappear before his very eyes. A chill went down his back as he gulped slowly, he had a really bad feeling about this.

“Shocked? Don’t be. There’s a lot of things you didn’t see coming.”

“Enough talk!” Swampfire shouted as he shot several fireballs at the villain.

A blast of air pressure dissipated them into nothingness before they even got close to Vilgax. 

“You read my mind, Tennyson.” a voice boomed from behind the group.

Ben looked behind him and widened his eyes at the figure that stood up on a ledge. He couldn’t believe his eyes and neither could the rest of the group when they glanced back. Ben narrowed his eyes at the monstrous figure and opened his mouth to speak, but got cut off by a female voice.

“Kevin?”

Ben turned to his right and saw Gwen and grandpa Max with his kid Plumbers running into view.

“Now the fun begins and I shall take my leave. Till we meet again, Tennyson.” Vilgax commented as he disappeared in a red light.

Ben didn’t have time to react when Kevin shoulder-checked him into a rock wall with his massive body. The alien growled and tried to shoot off some flames but got his arm twisted by Kevin and ripped off. Ben screamed in agony as he tried to regrow his limb, but was stopped when Kevin picked him up and threw him onto the ground. The beast blasted Jetray’s lasers at Ben’s stump to prevent it from regrowing. Swampfire writhed in pain before using his other arm to release a massive explosion that blasted Kevin back into some boulders. Ben slowly got up and materialized seeds from his hand and placed them in his stump causing his arm to regenerate immediately. Kevin started to get up from the crushed rocks, only to be hit again by a massive stream of flames that rocketed him off a ledge. Ben was breathing heavily as he walked towards the ledge, Kevin was able to shake off the dizzy feeling and spread his wings to take flight into the air and shot a barrage of Diamondhead’s crystals at the hero. Ben raised his hands to release another torrent of fire at the projectiles that sent them off course. Ben was shocked to see Kevin appear from within the flames with his arm cocked back, he connected his fist with Ben’s jaw and sent him off spinning backwards. Ben crashed into the ground before flipping and landing on his feet with his hand on the ground to slow his movement. The hero planted his hand into the ground and several thick green vines appeared beneath Kevin and wrapped around his body and wings. Kevin growled and hissed as he tried to break free from the bonds, Ben kept the vines coming until the monster was completely wrapped in green vines like a mummy. The hero broke his hand off from the ground and walked slowly towards the captured figure. Swampfire ignited his hand with the intent of setting Kevin ablaze. 

“Ben wait!” a voice called out.

The boy turned towards the sound and looked at Gwen who had Lucy handcuffed on the ground. He narrowed his eyes at the concerned red-head.

“I’m waiting.”

“Ben, don’t do this!” Gwen shouted.

“Do it Ben! Kill him! Then help me kill these traitors!” Lucy growled as she tried to break out of the cuffs. 

“BEN DON’T!”

“DO IT!”

“DON’T LISTEN TO HER! SHE’S CONTROLLING YOU!”

Ben surveyed the area and saw Tetrax busy with the kid Plumbers and Paradox was nowhere to be found. He shut his eyes and tried to think reasonably for once. Ben was at a loss, the boy didn’t know what to do and usually Gwen helps him with his decisions but now… 

Ben gritted his teeth and ignited his palm again as he stepped forward. He knew what had to be done. Be a hero.

“Ben please…” Gwen pleaded with her cousin.

The boy unleashed a stream of fire from his hand that blew past the entrapped Kevin towards Gwen. The red-head widened her eyes before throwing up a mana shield to deflect the blast. The impact sent her tumbling back with a groan. Grandpa Max shook violently in anger as he drew his null void projector, he didn’t want to use it on his grandson but he had no choice. Max was about to pull the trigger when a green flash blinded him and stopped his actions. When he was able to see, the older man saw XLR8 disappear from view and reappear next to Lucy. Ben grabbed the blonde before speeding off again from the battle. Max ran over to Gwen to check her vitals, she was still breathing. 

“Thank God.” the Plumber said out loud.

XLR8 ran up cliff sides and ledges to retreat to safer ground. When he was sure that no one had followed them, the hero gently placed Lucy on the ground. She seemed to be knocked out. The boy blew a sigh of relief.

“Always gotta be the hero, eh Tennyson?” 

_ What? But how? He was sure that he was still trapped in the vines. _ Ben told himself as he turned around to greet the smiling Kevin.

“You don’t know how to stay down, do you?” Ben snarled.

He didn’t have time for this again, the boy turned around to grab Lucy and speed off again but he suddenly felt very drowsy. He tried to run but fell flat on his face.  _ What the-  _ Ben thought as he attempted to get up. He could barely move his body as he put every shred of willpower into moving. No such luck. 

“W-what did you do to me?” Ben groaned.

“Maybe you should ask your girlfriend.” Kevin mocked.

Ben looked over at Lucy and saw her standing there with a solemn expression on her face as she looked down at him with pity in her eyes. 

“Sorry.” Lucy said coldly as she threw a small empty syringe on the ground in front of him.

Ben looked at the object with complete betrayal written on his face. He couldn’t believe what was happening. Of all people? Lucy decided to betray him?

“You should see the look on your face, Tennyson.” Kevin laughed cruelly.

“B-but but-” Ben started.

“Stop. Just stop, Ben.” Lucy interrupted.

“Yeah just  _ stop _ , Ben.” Kevin snarled as he stepped on the hero’s back.

“Don’t be such an asshole.” Lucy snapped at the monstrous figure.

“Ha! Don’t tell me you developed feelings for this guy?” 

“Let’s just go. Vilgax needs us back at base.” 

“Whatever.” 

Lucy walked over to Kevin and they both walked away from the beaten hero before teleporting away in a red light. Ben watched Lucy disappear from his sight and he felt a twinge of regret. The hero dropped his head to the ground, changing back into his human form as he passed out. 


	10. No More Games

Ben groaned loudly. He was still drowsy and the numbness was only starting to go away. The boy wiped the drool from his lips as he attempted to roll onto his side. Every second felt like decades with how slow he was moving. Ben didn’t know where he was, the last thing he remembers is…  _ Oh yeah _ . He thought as he recollected the past events. Vilgax found a way to reanimate Kevin. The last person he wanted to see. Ever.  _ AGH!  _ Ben clutched his head as his mind forced him to watch Lucy’s betrayal all over again. The hero refused to believe that Lucy went over to Vilgax’s side. What could he possibly have offered her that she didn’t have already. The boy heard footsteps approaching him from the darkness and he squinted to catch a glimpse of the figure. 

“Relax yourself, boy. It is only me.” Tetrax called out.

Ben looked up at the ex-Plumber, the alien was in no better shape than him. Tetrax’s uniform was tattered and his arm was chipped in several places like someone took a pick axe to it. The Petrosapien helped the hero to a sitting position and handed him a flask.

“Drink. It’ll make you feel better.”

Ben leaned against the wall as he accepted the beverage.

“Thanks.” Ben groaned as he quenched his thirst.

The teenager felt his mind clear up and his body relax. He sighed deeply as he handed the flask back. 

“Where are we?”

“Cave. I managed to escape the Plumbers when I saw you and Lucy retreat.”

“So you saw…”

“No, but when I saw you on the ground with a syringe laying beside you and no Lucy in sight; I figured it out for myself.”

“How’d you figure it out?” 

“Well when I think of what Paradox told me about Planet 99 and her involvement, it came as no surprise to me. She’s unstable.”

“You mean Paradox knew this was going to happen?” Ben growled at the alien.

“Well-”

“Of course I knew, Ben. I  _ can  _ see the future after all.” Paradox interjected as he walked out from the darkness of the cave. 

“And you didn’t think to tell me? Not even about her past?” Ben snarled as he glared at the scientist.

“No because I knew you would try something stupid like try to save her.”

“I am a hero! Isn’t that apart of my fucking job description.”

“Sure. Save as many people as possible, but she is BEYOND saving.”

“You’re a fucking joke.” Ben spat.

“Say what you want. I’m only here to bring you back to Earth.”

And with that, the man snapped his fingers and suddenly they were back in the factory that Lucy showed him. 

“I have some things to attend to, so may I ask that you keep an eye on Ben so he doesn’t do anything risky, Tetrax?” Paradox asked the alien quickly.

Tetrax nodded as he stood up and checked his pager.

“Alrighty. Ben, I assume that I don’t have to tell you to behave yourself right?” 

“Fuck off.”

Paradox smiled weakly at the boy before teleporting off again. 

“I know you’re mad but try to understand. Paradox is trying his best right now. He already feels bad enough for leading us into that trap.” Tetrax commented solemnly.

“I need to be alone right now. I’m going for a drive. Stay if you want, but I won’t be coming back.” Ben said as he walked towards the exit.

Tetrax watched him disappear behind the door before sitting on the couch. Ben trudged over to his car and climbed inside. He noticed Julie’s lipgloss in his cupholder and frowned. Ben started the car and peeled out of the lot towards the town of Bellwood. He gripped the steering wheel roughly as his foot pushed down on the gas pedal. Ben was pissed.  _ Nobody ever tells me shit and they expect me to go save the fucking world? They seriously didn’t trust me enough to fill me in? I’m just supposed to do what they say when they say? Like a fucking dog? Well not anymore! I’m done with this “hero” shit. From now on, I’m doing what I want! And what I want is some fucking answers.  _ Ben ranted inside his head as he swerved onto Broad street.

“And I know exactly where to get them.” Ben smirked as he looked at the hospital in the distance.

Ben pulled into a parking spot and shut his car off. It was starting to get dark when he arrived so he threw on a baseball cap and hurried outside. He kept the brim of the cap over his eyes and his hands in the jacket pockets as he strolled inside of the hospital. Ben walked up to the lady at the front desk.

“Good evening, how can I help you?”

“I’m looking for my friend? Pierce? I heard he was in an accident and ended up in the ICU.”

“Ah yes the alien? We were trying to contact family, even friends to inform them of his condition but it seems your friend here is a ghost.”

“Haha yes, he was always very secretive. Well tell him that his old friend Ben came to pick him up.”

“Of course! Right away, sir. You can take a seat and he’ll be right down.”

Ben nodded and walked over to the waiting area. He closed his eyes for a moment and he heard a female shriek. He tensed up because he thought that meant trouble.

“Oh my God! Are you  _ the  _ Ben Te-”

“No. I’m just a really big fan.” Ben cut the little girl off.

She frowned and apologized before skipping back over to her worried mother. The mom shot Ben a sorrowful look but the boy ignored it and closed his eyes again. 

“Hey dude, thanks for picking me up.”

Ben opened his eyes to see the former junior Plumber standing in front of him. The alien still had a couple bandages wrapped on healing wounds but he definitely looked better than he did when they found him.

“I don’t really remember much before the hospital, but I appreciate the gesture.” Pierce said as he smiled.

Ben grinned and stood up to exit the building with Pierce in tow. 

“So where’s Lucy?”

“She’s back at the hideout. Paradox had her do something for him.”

“Shit. Paradox is involved? You guys are really balls deep in this, huh?”

“Ha! If only you knew.” Ben laughed as the duo jumped in the car.

Ben took off down the highway, the car was quiet and Ben loved every second of it.

“So Lucy huh?” Pierce smirked as he looked over at the boy.

“What about her?”

“Com’n! You guys dating or what?”

“I wouldn’t say that.” 

“Oh so you’re fucking? Man I’m jealous as hell! I’ve been trying to get with Lucy for a while now. The girl got an ass the size of the fucking Moon, bro.” Pierce laughed.

Ben cringed at the comparison of Lucy’s ass to the Moon but held his tongue.

“So what about that Julie chick?”

“What about her?”

“When'd you break it off?”

“We didn’t.”

Pierce widened his eyes at the comment and grinned wildly.

“Damn bro two at a time? They call you a hero but all I’m seeing is a fucking villain, dude!” Pierce cracked up as he jabbed Ben’s ribs with his elbow lightly.

Ben wanted to toss this kid out of his car but he needed him so he decided to laugh along with the teen.

“Well you know me…” Ben chuckled. 

“I don’t know if I do anymore.” Pierce joked.

The rest of the ride was spent laughing and telling jokes. Ben needed to keep him entertained until he got to his destination. It was several minutes later when Ben pulled into a lot that had several rows of garages, he navigated the maze of buildings before stopping in front of one. The guys stepped out of the car and looked around. Ben pulled a ring of keys from his pocket and went up to the door. Ben unlocked it and moved inside with Pierce. The mutant walked away from Ben to check out the place.

“So this is it? Not much room for activities, huh? LUCY! Where is this chick?” Pierce yelled the last part into the room.

Ben sucker punched the alien in the jaw, and watched him fall flat on his face. Pierce scrambled to get up but was kicked back down by Ben. He fell on his back and looked up at the teen.

“Bro, what the fuck are you doing?” 

“Shut the fuck UP, Pierce.” Ben snapped.

Ben grabbed a pipe from a nearby table and bashed Pierce over the head with it, knocking him out cold. The teen threw the pipe down and picked up the mutant and threw him onto a chair. He went to the closet and searched for the necessary equipment. 

Pierce woke up with a massive headache, he tried to move but realized he was chained to a chair.  _ What the fuck?  _ He thought as he tried to use his quills to break free. It was no use he was still too weak from the accident to use his powers properly. 

“Ben? BEN!” The teenager screamed.

“Stop fucking screaming. What is your problem?”

“What is MY problem? Why did you tie me to a fucking CHAIR!” 

Ben walked out from the shadows with a baseball bat. He had a wicked smirk on his face as he stepped closer to the mutant.

“You know Kevin and I used to beat people up for information? We weren’t the best detectives so when we needed the answers for a problem, we would drag people back here and torture it out of them. I wasn’t too keen on the idea at first, I mean we’re supposed to be the good guys right? Now… I DON’T SEE THE PROBLEM WITH IT!” Ben shouted the last part as he smashed Pierce’s left shin with the bat.

The alien howled in pain as he threw his head back, his shin felt like jelly and his leg was almost completely numb. 

“I see. So you and Kevin set me up?” Pierce snarled as he tried to snuff out the pain.

“Nah. Kevin is dead, buddy. I set you up and fell for it like a fucking moron. Now you’re gonna tell me a story and depending on how good you are at spinning tales then I’ll consider letting you go, but if I give you a bad review then it's going to be a bad night. For you. You ready? The topic of storytime today is Planet 99. Go.” Ben explained as he narrowed his eyes at the alien.


	11. Planet 99

“You’re up blondey! Don’t fuck it up!” Pierce laughed as he moved over.

Lucy walked up to the console and rolled her eyes as she playfully pushed Pierce out of the way. 

“Oh har har. You’re so funny.”

Lucy pressed her hand down on the scanner and let the device take her prints to make an ID badge. They were about to depart for Planet 99 or better known as Gloria. Lucy was excited, it was the first mission that wasn’t just busy work. Their mission was to collect the princess of the Imperial army. The Plumbers caught wind of an assassination plot against the princess. The king decided to release his daughter into Plumber custody. 

“You bothering Lucy again?” a male voice called out.

A brown-haired teen walked into the room, he had freckles scattered across his cheeks and nose with a toothy grin, but the best part of him was the deep brown eyes that seemed to understand everything you were going through. He was dressed in a Plumber’s outfit with a rifle slung across his back, his name badge said “Jake”. Lucy and Jake were dating for a couple months already and she was even happier when he got assigned to her squad. Captain Eliza Kyan walked in after the boy. Kyan looked human but had extremely pale skin with blue hair, she was from the frost planet of Temper. She is able to withstand below freezing temperatures and freeze things using her cyrokinesis. It took a lot out of her so she stuck to guns unless it was absolutely necessary. Plus, she was an aceshot with that laser pistol strapped to her hip. She wore glasses and always kept her blue hair in a bun. She was always alone, which is weird because she was absolutely beautiful but she told us that she had someone waiting back on Temper.

“Is everybody ready?” Eliza asked as she picked up a folder from her desk.

“Yes ma’am.” Everyone replied respectfully.

“Alrighty then, let’s get going.” The captain commanded as she walked out.

The soldiers followed their leader down the hall to the ship bay.

“But grandpa Max, I don’t wanna go back! It’s freaking boring!” Ben whined as he walked beside his grandfather.

Gwen followed close behind with a smile on her face as she rolled her eyes at Ben’s complaining.

“Ben, I know it’s boring but it’s part of being a hero! Now stop whining.” Max shouted at the young teen.

Lucy watched the famous trio walk past them into another room. The kid went on dangerous missions all the time with his cousin and grandpa. He was only 14 years old! Just like her, yet she’s stuck behind a desk half the time and he’s out saving the world. Sure, he had the Omnitrix but she could kick butt too! Captain Kyan always told her to be patient and her turn would come soon. Lucy didn’t know when her turn was, but she hoped it included a watch that can transform her into aliens. 

“Alright guys, go warm up the ship and I’ll sign us out.” Kyan said as she walked over to a desk with guards nearby.

The trio ran to their spaceship and dashed inside. Everyone wanted to be the one to start the engines. Lucy got there first and slammed the button down, she grinned when she heard the roar of the massive engines coming to life. 

“Too slow,boys! Better luck next time.” Lucy boasted as she sat down in the co-pilot’s chair.

Pierce came into the room rubbing his head with a frown on his face.

“Imagine pushing someone into a pipe to win?” 

“Imagine being manhandled by a girl?” 

Pierce and Lucy shared equally frightening glares before Jake walked in between them with his hands up.

“Hey now, try not to kill each other before the captain comes.” the boy laughed.

Eliza walked in with a stack of papers under her arm and she glanced around the room at the sudden silence.

“Oh by all means continue talking. I don’t want to interrupt.”

Everyone knew to keep their mouths shut because playtime was over. The ice queen has arrived. She dumped the papers in Lucy’s lap before sitting in the pilot’s seat.

“Arrange that for me by date. I want to know every report that came out of the station on Planet 99.” 

Lucy nodded quickly and set the bundle of papers on the desk and got right to work.

“Jake, would you remind me what our objective is on Planet 99?”

“Ma’am, we will be securing the Princess of the Imperial Army. We will be leaving at 13:00 and arriving on site at 16:00, there we will have approximately six hours to escort the princess off-world.” 

“Seems about right. We will be linking with squad 14D as well. Planet 99 is their jurisdiction, so try to follow their instructions. We don’t want to jeopardize their relationship with the nation of Imperia.” Captain Kyan explained.

Jake nodded and wrote the extra information in his notepad before sitting down. 

“Everyone try to get some sleep. Once we get there, you can expect no rest for at least two days.” Kyan continued.

Pierce smiled as he leaned back in his seat and closed his eyes, Jake followed his lead and rested on the desk to his right.

“You too, Lucy.”

“But ma’am, I didn-”

“Doesn’t matter. You can finish it later.” The captain ordered.

Lucy placed the papers aside and planted her head on the cold desk. She closed her eyes for a second before she let sleep take over.

Lucy awoke to a hand stroking her hair softly and she looked up at the culprit. 

“Time to wake up, babe. The captain and Pierce are already inside.”

Lucy yawned before standing up to stretch and look around. She saw massive mountains through the windshield of the ship and immediately smiled. She liked this place already. She followed Jake out of the ship into the small bay the station had. This place looked really old-fashioned compared to HQ. The couple walked into a bigger room with computers lined up against the wall, Lucy noticed the captain and Pierce talking to a lizard humanoid and a little girl. The girl looked about six years old, there is no way she’s a Plumber right? The blonde’s question was answered when she introduced herself as a senior Plumber to our captain. Lucy’s eyes widened when she saw the captain call her ma’am, that meant this little girl was a higher rank than Eliza. The two officers shared contact info before going their separate ways. The junior Plumbers followed their captain through the maze of hallways to the front entrance to the facility. The station was planted in the middle of the city. Lucy gasped as she looked at all the bustling people and massive buildings that shined with different types of neon lights. It looked like a city on Planet Earth and it gave the group quite a culture shock. Captain Kyan led them through the crowded streets towards a massive castle, it seemed almost out of place with everything else but somehow added to the aesthetic of the city. Lucy was so excited to explore this new place but the realization of it all set in quickly. She wasn’t a tourist, she was on an important mission to escort a princess. Now wasn’t the time to have her guard down, someone was planning on killing royalty in this city. She looked over to Jake who had his signature poker face on. They soon arrived at the front gates of the castle. It was guarded by giant mechanical drones and men with futuristic weapons. The captain nodded at the guards before continuing through the gates and door of the building. Eliza stopped in front of a well-dressed man with a welcoming smile on his face. He introduced himself as the head butler of the manor second only to the master and mistress of the house.

“The missus will be arriving around six from Lord Dragonite’s party in the mountains. It’s my understanding that you will be escorting her from the residence to a safehouse off-world, correct?” The butler asked politely.

“Yes sir. We will only be holding her for a day or until the threat is over.” Captain Kyan replied.

“Very good. Now let me show you to an office you can use as a base of operations.” 

The butler turned swiftly on his heels and walked deeper into the house. Lucy was in awe of the prestigious house; every item looked rare or expensive, or both, the walls looked to be lined with gold; and diamonds sparkled from the chandeliers. Lucy had never seen so much wealth in her life, her family was always average when it came to anything especially money. The Tennyson’s became a big name after Ben defeated Vilgax for the first time. Sure they weren’t rich and luxurious, but Ben brought them fame and pride. Lucy wished she had something to be prideful of. As the blonde’s mind wandered, the group followed the butler into a study with several rows of bookshelves and desks, computers sat on top of the tables and books lined the shelves. 

“Sweet! Thanks mister!” Pierce said happily as he jogged over to a computer.

“They’re just computers, man.” Jake rolled his eyes as he followed Pierce over to a desk.

“Behave yourself, boys.” Eliza reprimanded.

The butler smiled at the captain before taking his leave, he accidentally bumped shoulders with Lucy; effectively knocking her out of her day dream. She looked up at the butler’s face and he muttered his apology while exiting the room. She recoiled because the expression on the man’s face did not show any kind of regret or guilt for knocking into her. Lucy decided to ignore it and sit down at a desk by herself. She noticed the captain slowly sitting down next to her and she looked up.

“Something isn’t right.” Kyan whispered.

“What do you mean?” 

“I was told at the station that the princess was supposed to be here already. And where is everyone? Sure, it’s not unusual to not see the King and Queen walking around the halls, but there was not a single worker or servant in the hallways.”

“You know how royalty like to do their own thing, Captain. But I do agree about how empty the place is.” 

“That’s not even the weirdest part. The senior officer at the station said the servant that’ll be greeting us is an older woman with black hair named Rachael.”

“Okay now that is a little creepy.”

“You’re telling me. I’m gonna go look around for a bit and maybe talk to that head butler. Call me if anything weird happens and keep an eye on those two morons.”

“Yes ma’am.” Lucy laughed and nodded.

Lucy watched her leader exit the room and turned her attention to the two boys, they were snickering and laughing at something on screen. She rolled her eyes and looked around the room for anything interesting. She stopped at a book titled ‘Strongest’ and stood up to retrieve said book. A knock on the door stopped her movement and she looked over at the butler moving into the room with a teapot on a silver platter.

“Excuse my disturbance but I thought you might want some tea. It helps calm the nerves.”

“That would be amazing, thank you very much.” Lucy spoke politely.

The butler set the tea down on the table and poured out four cups quickly.

“By the way, where is your captain?”

“She needed to use the ladies room.”

“I didn’t tell her where the bathroom was.”

“I’m sure she’ll figure it out.”

“I’d better go find her so she isn’t roaming the halls forever.”

The head butler left the room in a hurry as he slammed the door behind him. Pierce and Jake looked up at the noise with a confused look.

“Huh? Where's the captain? And is that tea?” Pierce stated.

Jake rolled his eyes at his friend’s lack of awareness and walked over to the cups. He was about to grab the handle when he got his hand swatted away by Lucy.

“What the hell, Lucy?”

“Don’t drink shit from strangers, Jake.”

“What? Do you think the butler poisoned it?” Jake mocked the girl.

“Let’s find out.” Pierce called out as he stood up.

The mutant grew out one of his quills and broke it off as he headed towards the cups, he stirred his quill in the tea for a couple of seconds before pulling it out. The boy inspected the quill thoroughly and noticed it started to slowly disintegrate until it was nothing but dust in his hand. 

“Haha! Lucy would have to collect your ass with a dustpan after teatime.” Pierce laughed loudly.

Jake flipped Pierce the bird as he went to sit back down by the computer. Pierce continued to laugh at the boy’s reaction.

“Shh! I think I hear someone coming.” Lucy demanded as she looked at the door.

They heard rushing footsteps approaching the door and everyone immediately tensed up, the door flew open and a bloodied Kyan hurried in. 

“We have to leave. Now.” Kyan snapped.

The group immediately jumped up at their captain’s tone and followed her out of the room at a full sprint. Lucy noticed that Eliza was running with a limp and decided to find out more.

“Ma’am? What happened? You’re injured! At least let me do some field dressings.”

“No fucking time. Mission is aborted. We’re going back to HQ.”

“What about the princess?” 

“She’s already dead. Along with the king and queen.”

Lucy’s eyes widened at the news she received, she couldn't believe that the mission already went sideways. She wanted to ask more questions but she was already sick to her stomach. The group ran in silence down the narrow hallways until they reached the front foyer. They stopped when the head butler walked in from the front doors.

“Leaving so soon?” The man smirked.

“Listen, I don’t know what the fuck is going on, but it’s offically not the Plumber’s problem anymore.” Eliza snapped as she drew her gun from it’s holster.

“Haha. I agree with you and that’s why you’re all going to die!” 

Kyan pointed her weapon at the older man and kept her finger on the trigger.

Oh no no! Not by me! By him.” The servant snarled as he pointed upwards.

Nobody had time to react before a loud boom filled the room, Lucy felt wetness splash against her face and she immediately touched the liquid to see what it was. The blonde was trembling as she stared at the bright red fluid that covered her hand, she hesitated to look in the direction of where it came from; but curiosity got the best of her. She couldn’t find her voice to scream when she saw the painful expression on her captain’s face, Kyan put pressure on her bloodied stump as she glared at the robot attacker flying above her. It wasn’t an ordinary attack. She just had her arm blown off by Sevenseven, one of the best bounty hunters in the galaxy. The boys were shocked when they saw their captain fall to one knee. Pierce was the first to react with anger written over his face.

“I’ll fucking kill you!” Pierce screamed up at the alien.

“NO! Don’t you dare lose control here, Pierce. You guys have to get back to the ship.” Kyan shouted to the teenager.

Pierce looked over at their leader like she was crazy but Kyan held her ground.

“I’ll cover your exit. Just run and don’t look back!”

Pierce was about to argue but got pushed aside by a running Jake, who grabbed Lucy’s hand and pulled her with him towards the exit.

“You heard her, Pierce! Let’s fucking go!”

Pierce looked at Captain Kyan one last time before running off with tears in his eyes. The group burst through the front door and down the steps.

“Kill them, Sevenseven.” The butler told the assassin.

“Not so fast. Glacial… ICE AGE!” Kyan shouted.

A gust of arctic wind blasted into the room covering the walls and floors with ice, the temperature dropped below zero in seconds as the house became overrun with frost. Everything turned light blue as it all turned into an icicle. Nothing was left untouched and from the outside, the house looked like a snow fortress. The three inhabitants of the room were encased in a block of ice. Kyan’s body was completely blue with sky blue eyes and hair, her frozen body trembled before shattering into ice particles. The butler died immediately from his blood and organs freezing in seconds. Sevenseven’s frozen body fell to the ground and exploded into pieces of ice.

NO! CAPTAIN! CAPTAIN!” Pierce yelled as he was held back by Jake.

The squad members stood outside in horror of what just occurred. Lucy looked up at the completely frozen castle in awe of Kyan’s power, but knew that this was ALL her power; meaning that there was a big chance that she was dead. The blonde felt tears trickling down her cheeks as Pierce screamed for their leader. She wanted to scream too.

“We gotta get outta here!” Jake shouted as he pulled Pierce away.

_ He was right. _ Lucy thought as she looked around at the crowds starting to appear. 

Jake glanced at Lucy with a worried expression and she gave him a weak smile before helping him get Pierce under control. The group ran down the street in the direction of the Plumber station, they needed backup if they wanted to go back for their captain. Lucy burst through the doors with Jake and Pierce in tow and she scanned the room for any Plumbers.

“Hello? We need help! Please help!” Lucy called out as she ran down the hallways.

She came into the room where everyone was earlier and screamed loudly at the scene in front of her. The young girl was slumped against the wall with a massive hole in her head and her assistant still sat in his chair with his throat slit. 

“What the fuck is going on?” Pierce asked, scared.

“Watch out!” Jake yelled as he jumped on top of Lucy.

“What the fuck, Jake?” Lucy growled at the boy.

This wasn’t the time to be playing around. Jake let out a laugh and a small trail of blood oozed from the corner of his mouth. Lucy looked the boy in his eyes with a confused look. Her eyes scanned his body and saw a massive black blade protruding from his chest. Sixsix, the bounty hunter, stood behind the boy and used the blade to lift him up and toss him against the wall. Lucy watched his body crumble onto the ground. It replayed several times in her mind before sending her into a fit of rage. She extended her arm out and it transformed into a massive sludge hand that grabbed the killer. She stared intensely at the bounty hunter’s mask as she squeezed the life out of him, she heard his alien cries and metal crushing until the loud snap of a spinal cord released her from the fury. She tossed Sixsix away like an old toy and stood up to walk over to Jake. She looked at his unmoving body as tears left her eyes and she finally found her voice to scream in mental anguish. She hated herself for letting Sixsix sneak up on her and she hated Jake for sacrificing his life for her.

“Stupid asshole. Who’s gonna take charge now?” Lucy sniffled as she tried to dry her tears.

Lucy’s moment was interrupted by radio chatter, there was someone trying to communicate with Sixsix. They were asking about his whereabouts and to report back to the ship. She widened her eyes when she heard the person talk about Vilgax wanting an update.  _ Vilgax is here? _ Lucy told herself.

“Did that guy just say something about Vilgax?” Pierce asked.

“Yeah and I think his ship is nearby.” 

“Then we need to leave as soon as possible.” 

Pierce walked quickly in the direction of the ship bay, the boy did not want to take any more chances with assassins. 

“Wait. Check this out.” Lucy called out as she stood in front of the assistant’s computer screen.

Pierce came back and looked at the screen.

“He has the Anti-Air system up. This guy must have known about the ship! We can blow Vilgax out of the sky!” 

“Are you out of your fucking mind, Lucy? We have to go! Why would we ever fight Vilgax?”

“To avenge Kyan and Jake.” Lucy replied sharply.

“What? Lucy, they sacrificed THEIR lives so WE can escape!”

“I’m not leaving without killing the people responsible.”

“Lucy, either we get on the ship together or I get on alone.”

“Fine.”

Lucy pulled the dead Plumber out of the chair and sat down before typing commands on the computer. Pierce looked at her in shock before shaking his head and leaving the room. She glanced over at him for a moment before continuing to activate the missiles. She spammed “enter” every chance she got as she blew past the on screen warnings and prompts. After inputting her Plumber ID, she sat back and closed her eyes. Lucy listened to the sound of missiles taking aim towards the castle. She heard the final alarm blare as the rockets fired off in the direction of the castle. The system had tracked a flying vehicle in that direction and she assumed it could only be Vilgax’s ship.  _ No time for regrets now.  _ Lucy told herself as she heard the missiles explode in the distance. The explosion sounded horrible but it was music to the girl’s ears. She had avenged her captain and teammate. Lucy opened her eyes to the lights flickering as the power struggled to stay on and screaming was heard from the streets, along with buildings crumbling and fires roaring. The blonde assumed that the ship landed on the city and caused mass amounts of destruction, she answered her own question when she stepped out onto the streets. She felt nothing as she walked towards the epicenter of chaos, people screaming and running away from the fires. She watched citizens try to pull others from the rubble and couldn’t help but smile.  _ These people didn’t even know that their King and Queen were dead _ Lucy thought, she continued to walk towards the ruined ship in hopes of finding visual confirmation of Vilgax’s corpse. She wanted nothing more than to see that freak crushed underneath his own ship. She saw members of the spaceship crawling away from the wreckage but ignored them as she glared at a roaring fire. Lucy narrowed her eyes as she stared deep into the flames, moments later a massive figure came walking out from the fierce fire. She knew he had survived. Vilgax ripped pieces of his ruined armor suit off as he stopped to study the girl in front of him. He felt her animosity radiating off her as she glared daggers at him.

“The way you’re looking at me gives away that you’re the one to blame for this, girl.” Vilgax snarled.

“You’re smarter than you look, squid-face.” Lucy spat at the villain.

“Famous last words, child.”

“You’re one to talk.”

Lucy transformed into her alien form just as Vilgax punched a hole through her body, she smiled at the surprised look on the larger alien’s face. Lucy created a massive spiked ball out of sludge before smashing it into the villain’s face, he stumbled back before charging the girl. She molded a shield and sword with her two arms and blocked the upcoming punches before thrusting her weapon towards his stomach. Vilgax grabbed the blade and forced her arm away from him, she struggled against his power with a snarl on her face. The alien headbutted the girl and grabbed her arm to pull her forward before kneeing her in the stomach and slamming her on the ground. Lucy closed her eyes as she tried to hide the pained expression on her face, but tears streamed down her cheeks anyway and she finally let out a loud agonizing scream. She could barely breathe and everything was spinning. 

“You’re good but you need discipline. I’ll give you a choice. Pledge your loyalty to me or die a meaningless death.”

“Never! I need to avenge my friends!”

“And what exactly would that accomplish? Killing yourself over dead people. Did you think that you’d gain a legacy? That people would tell others of your sacrifice? Where’s your friend? He abandoned you. Left you to die. Do you really think he thought you’d beat me? He was just saving his own skin so HE can tell the story about how he was the only survivor of a suicide mission. He won’t tell people that he left you by yourself. Your accomplishments will forever be intangible. Join me and I’ll give you the power to reach true goals, where you can see and touch the rewards. You’ll be the only one telling your story and nobody will be able to say different. You want to feel strong? Useful? Powerful? A couple years with me and you’ll have entire planets bowing at your feet. No one you care about will ever die again.” 

Vilgax extended his hand for her to take and waited. Lucy looked at the alien’s hand and immediately took the offer. She wanted to be strong. Like Ben Tennyson. Vilgax smiled as he pulled the girl onto her feet. 

“Good choice.” Vilgax stated as they began to walk out of the destroyed city.


	12. Catch-up

“Please! That’s all I know! I don’t know what happened to Lucy after she left the station.” Pierce cried.

Ben looked at the beaten and bloodied face of the mutant, his body was covered in bruises and gashes from the baseball bat. The teenager didn’t have the slightest bit of regret from torturing the Plumber.

“So what happened when you got back to HQ?”

“Nothing… I never went back. I went AWOL and they’ve been looking for me ever since. They gave up when they found out what happened themselves, I guess command didn’t want that bullshit around them.”

“You know what happened to Lucy?”

“No.” 

“Do you want to?”

Pierce looked down in shame of what could have happened to his friend.

“She joined Vilgax. And she’s currently assisting him in taking the power of a celestial being.”

Pierce kept silent, he knew she didn’t die on Gloria but he had no luck in finding where she disappeared to. After all these years he finally found out where she went. He was relieved that she was alive. Ben narrowed his eyes at the alien and took his silence as disrespect, he twirled the bat around in his hand.

“You understand now why you’re going to die here, right? You cheated death several years ago when ALL of your teammates died on Planet 99. I think it’s about time you got what you deserve.” Ben stated coldly.

“Wait you said if I told yo-” 

Pierce didn’t have time to finish his sentence because Ben began to bash his face in with the baseball bat. The bat shattered all of the bones in Pierce’s face in the first hit, the second and third cracked his skull, the fourth and fifth turned his head into a bloodied mess. Blood splattered all over the walls and the hero as he continued to assault the teen. Pierce’s head looked like a crushed watermelon when Ben stopped and inspected the scene. He saw the pieces of bone, brain, and skin littered all over the floor. The bat was covered in blood and brain matter, Ben dropped the murder weapon and grabbed his keys before walking out of the building. He calmly entered his car and started his vehicle, the boy looked in his rearview mirror and saw blood covering his face. He grabbed a rag and wiped himself off and threw the bloody cloth out the window. He began driving towards the exit of the complex. The car was completely silent and his mind was clear, he felt at peace with himself. Ben slammed on the brakes when a pink barrier appeared in front of him suddenly. He glared at the girl, who relentlessly pursued him from the beginning, standing in the middle of the street. He slowly climbed out of his car and walked to the front of it to confront his cousin. She was still ten feet away from him with a disgusted look on her face.

When she saw Ben with all the blood on his clothes staring at her with cold eyes, it made her want to vomit. She couldn’t believe that this was the same person who she spent her summers with. Was this the same hero she fought side by side with all these years?

“Ben, this is it. I’m done chasing you around. I’m giving you a choice, will you come quietly or not?” 

The teenager stood quietly and looked calmly at the girl before a green flash enveloped the night sky and standing in Ben’s place was NRG. Gwen sighed deeply and looked up at the alien.

“Of course. You were never one to give up easily.” Gwen laughed sweetly.

Gwen closed her eyes and raised her hands to mediate, she started to glow in a bright pink aura until she transformed into her full alien form. NRG ran towards the girl with his fist drawn back, he was immediately blocked by a shield and smacked by a massive pink pole that tossed him back onto the hood of his car. Gwen calmly walked towards Ben with a pitiful frown on her face. NRG groaned before rolling onto his feet and blasting a wave of radioactive energy in the direction of his cousin, which was dissipated by beams emitted from Gwen’s eyes. 

“Don’t underestimate me, Gwen.”

“I’m not.” 

Gwen waved her hand and a pink dome appeared around NRG, the alien looked around for a way out and decided to blow off extreme amounts of energy to break it. The massive explosion rocked the ground underneath him but when the smoke cleared the bubble was visibly unharmed. Ben tried smashing his fist against it with the power of miniature nukes in his hands. When nothing happened, NRG grew angry and shouted in frustration as he continued to wail on the magic dome.

“You’re being childish.” Gwen commented as she watched the boy.

Ben stopped his actions and stepped back, a green flash appeared in the dome and Gwen heard the shield break like glass as WayBig grew into his full size.

“It just gets worse after this, Gwen. Is that what you want? I’m willing to let you go because you’re my cousin. I could have taken NRG out of his suit. I could crush you in a single step right now. Alien X? I could make it so you never existed.” 

Ben transformed back into his human form with his hand extended towards Gwen.

“Or you can help me beat Vilgax.” Ben said smiling.

“So do it then.” 

“Huh?”

“Go all out on me. You know who else tries to get others to join him with the tactic of fear? Vilgax. You say you want to fight him but I’m starting to think we might have a bigger problem other than Vilgax.”

Gwen quicked wrapped a tendril of energy around Ben, strapping his arms down so he couldn’t reach the watch. Ben struggled to release himself and glared daggers at his cousin.

“I told you that you had a choice.”

“And I told you not to underestimate me. Omnitrix voice activation! Alien Swampf-”

Ben was cut off by Gwen chanting out a quick spell and putting the teen to sleep immediately. 

“Grandpa, I got him.” Gwen called into her comms device as she reverted back to human. 

“Hey Gwen, I could take him off your hands for you.” a female voice spoke from behind the girl.

The red-head whipped around to face the unknown intruder and widened her eyes when she saw silver hair and purple eyes.  _ Of all people…  _ Gwen told herself as she stepped back slowly.


	13. A witch and her boy

**“** Is that how you greet an old friend?” The sorceress smirked mischievously.

“We were never friends.”

“Hm, well that’s too bad and here I thought I’d be able to help yo-”

“How are you still alive?” Gwen interjected quickly, “last time I saw you you were a mangled corpse between two cars.”

“A magician never reveals their tricks.”

“You’re testing my patience, Charmcaster.” Gwen spat at the witch.

Gwen closed her eyes and began to levitate above the ground as she muttered a spell underneath her breath. The purple-eyed girl stood her ground with a wicked smile on her face as she glanced up at Gwen.

“You’re wasting your time, sweetheart. The talismans planted around the area will prevent you from using your big girl mana energy in here. You’re stuck using my boring ole spellbook, if you even have it anymore; I would say yes from the classical sleep spell you just used on Ben.”

Gwen internally groaned at the information she just received. Charmcaster was not lying to her, the mana in the air wasn’t reacting to her at all and she felt almost sluggish.  _ This isn’t good…  _ Gwen thought as she landed on the ground, she knew that Charmcaster was more experienced in the written arts of magic. And on top of that she hasn’t been studying the spellbook since she discovered her natural magnetism to mana. This could prove a tough fight for Gwen if grandpa Max doesn’t show up soon, especially since her cousin could wake up at any minute. She had to make this quick before more trouble showed up. The red-head pulled the book from her back pocket and flipped through it meticulously. 

Charmcaster smirked as she allowed the girl to ready herself, it wouldn’t be a satisfying victory if her nemesis wasn’t prepared. The witch felt her heart beating a million times a second and butterflies crept up into her stomach. She couldn’t help but chuckle to herself, this was the first time she has ever put Gwen in a corner like this. She was about to finally have her sweet revenge after all the years of bullshit the red-head put her through. 

“It scares you, doesn’t it? The feeling of having your back against the wall? With no escape or help? The feeling of pure terror knowing that you’re about to lose. It wouldn’t even matter how many plans you come up with because all of them would eventually fail. You’re stuck like a bug in a spider’s web and there is not a single thing you can do about it. Well, do you? Because you’re feeling a FRACTION of what I felt my ENTIRE LIFE!”

Gwen looked up to see the witch’s eyes glowing as hazy purple tendrils slowly leaked out of her book. The girl widened her eyes at the new piece of literature that Charmcaster had, she had never seen anything like it. That book oozed evil with jet black cover and bindings, there were scratch marks and foreign markings on the front cover; an open eye sat atop the front cover. Gwen felt sick as the grotesque eye blinked and looked around, the girl truly felt hopeless from the aura that thing was emitting. Gwen chanted a basic attack spell and an orb of pink appeared and sped off in the direction of Charmcaster. The tendrils that the silver-haired girl casted were whipping and moving around her slowly, but when the magic orb came into range they snapped to attention and swatted the ball of magic away with ease. 

“Ha! Is that all you got, Lucky girl?” The witch snorted at the feeble attack.

Gwen cringed at the mention of her vigilante name and continued to flip through the spellbook. There had to be one spell that could slow her down, because there was no way she was beating the silver-haired witch without mana; especially in the state she’s in now. Gwen noticed how crazy Charmcaster looked right now, she looked worse than usual and it was starting to creep the younger girl out. Charmcaster looked like she hasn’t slept in days with how bloodshot her eyes were and Gwen noticed a black marking on the right side of the girl’s face. It reminded Gwen of black flames as they crept further onto the sorceress’ cheeks.

“Charmcaster, you have to stop! Whatever you’re doing is killing you!”

The older witch simply growled as her hands glowed dark purple, an aura enveloped the ground beneath her and it began to shake violently. The ground was ripped apart and lifted up by the dangerous magic, the caster stood atop the rock with an insane smile on her face. The tendrils were whipping around aggressively as it sought out potential threats, two massive golems formed from the rocks to stand beside their master. Charmcaster grinned wildly as she extended her hand out to the girl below and Gwen realized she might be extremely screwed right now.

“And now I will have my revenge…”

“Sleep.” a high pitch voice whispered in Charmcaster’s ear.

The witch tried to spin around but it was too late as noxious gas filled her lungs from the floating alien known as Pesky Dust. When Charmcaster’s eyes closed for the final time, all of her magic began to crumble beneath her feet and leave her hurtling towards the concrete. Ben transformed into Four-arms to catch the girl as he landed on the ground. He quickly transformed into XLR8 with Charmcaster in his arms, and the teenager gave his cousin another look.

“I told you not to underestimate me.”

Gwen didn’t even have a chance to respond before Ben took off, without another word, in the direction of the desert. She stared at the last place she saw Ben and balled her fists in frustration. He slipped through her fingers yet again! And she had him right where she wanted him. Now he’s gone again and what’s worse is that he disappeared with her arch-nemesis. The girl wanted to scream until her lungs gave out, she couldn’t take it anymore; all she wanted was for things to go back to normal. She tensed up when she felt a hand on her shoulder, but she knew exactly who it was. Gwen looked up at her grandpa with sad eyes and he gave her his signature smile.

“It’s okay, Gwen. We’ll get him back.” Max reassured.

Ben arrived in a very familiar place and threw the witch down on an old pallet. She was still out cold from Pesky Dust’s power. Ben reverted back to human as he took a look around the place of memories. This is where we went from a duo to a trio all those years ago, where Ben fought Kevin 11 for the “last” time as a kid. The place was still completely destroyed and Ben wondered if Kevin ever came here again to reminisce. The hero laughed at the thought of teenage Kevin coming back to the place where he got his ass handed to him. Ben sat on the concrete floor and leaned against a rusty pole, he was tired from all the transformations and fighting and he yawned to prove his point. He had to admit that Gwen almost got him with that sleep spell, so he should really be thanking Charmcaster for intervening when she did. He turned to the sleeping girl and decided to tie her up and take away that creepy book. When Ben was done, he lightly slapped the girl awake with the back of his hand. 

“Wake up sleepy head. I need some information from you.”

Charmcaster squinted her eyes and stretched before fully opening her eyes and seeing who woke her up. The girl yelped and tried to get up, only to realize that she was tied up. Charmcaster growled and struggled to free herself as she gave Ben the scariest death stare she could muster. The boy merely smiled and pulled her up so she could sit against the wall. 

“How dare you tie me up, you fucking mong-”

Ben stuffed his handkerchief in her mouth before she could continue and sat across from the witch.

“You know you’re really pretty when you can’t speak.”

Charmcaster blushed slightly before glaring at the boy with murderous intent.

“Oh come on! Don’t give me that look. I did save you after all.”

The witch raised her eyebrow at the bold statement said to her.

“My grandpa had a null void projector meant for me if they couldn’t get me under control. So he would have no complaints about using it on you after seeing you go buck wild on his granddaughter.” Ben explained nonchalantly. “But I should be thanking you for buying me enough time to escape so I guess we’re even.” The hero added as he removed the cloth from the girl’s mouth.

The woman snorted before spitting at the boy’s feet. She never felt so much hatred towards a being in her life. She was this close. THIS CLOSE. She was this close to killing the bane of her existence and the little prick with a fancy watch had to ruin it. 

“Fuck you, Ben Tennyson.”

“I know you must hate me for screwing up your little duel with my cousin but I have some requests to make, if you would be so kind to grant them.”

“HAHA! You must’ve hit your fucking head if you think for a second that I’m helping you with ANYTHING.”

“How about this if you can hide me from Gwen’s tracking and find out the location of Lucy then, I’ll help you destroy your greatest enemy.”

“You’d help me kill your cousin?”

“What? No! Gwen isn’t your greatest enemy, Charmcaster. My cousin is just an obstacle that you failed to get over, nothing more and nothing less. She didn’t neglect and treat you like shit your entire life. Gwen didn’t use you as a vessel for her twisted experiments. She didn’t abandon you when you failed to do your job when you were only a child! Hex did. He crushed and molded you into what he wanted, ignoring any risks or negative effects that threatened his ONLY niece. He implanted in your mind that there was such a person that brought you such rage and hatred, that you would do anything to destroy that being. He left you and let rage consume your life turning you into a monster. You really think killing Gwen will get Hex’s approval? Then you really are just a dumb little girl.” 

Charmcaster lunged for the hero and landed immediately on her face, she was trying to rip through her restraints. She squirmed and jerked around until she was panting for air; her hair fell over her face and tears stung her purple eyes. Ben sighed before pressing his knee down between her shoulder blades to keep her from struggling more. Charmcaster started to calm down and soon all that was heard was her heavy, deep breathing. Ben leaned down till his lips almost touched the girl’s ear and whispered softly,

“Join me and finally get your revenge.” 

Charmcaster shivered under his warm breath and gave into the rogue hero’s desires. 

“Fine.”


	14. The Rose Festival

Ben watched the silver haired girl levitate, cross legged, in her ritual circle. She was finishing up the tracking spell for Lucy, it was a lot harder since Ben didn’t have any of the girl’s belongings. The hero sat against the wall deep in thought about what the first move was going to be, he was hoping that his words would get through to the blonde; but he was still skeptical about the whole situation with Vilgax’s little squad. Ben didn’t think he would have to beat Kevin again, believe it or not he was being eaten up by his friend’s death. Kevin was his best friend and truly understood what it felt like to be in his shoes.  _ And Gwen… _ Ben thought to himself as he clenched his fists. He couldn’t imagine what she was going through. She was hunting the cousin she spent her childhood with and that same person killed her first love.  _ That’ll make for a great college essay.  _ Ben told himself with a chuckle.

“I’m done.”

Ben was pulled from his trance and he looked up to see Charmcaster staring back at him with her deep purple eyes. The hero can see her past pain painted on her purple orbs. He almost felt bad for using her. Almost.

“She’s in the town of Rose about 30 miles south of here. There’s some powerful spirits around her. I recognized my uncle’s but I don’t know the others.”

“That’s probably Kevin and Vilgax. Thank you for tracking her.” Ben replied.

“We should probably leave before they move again.” Charmcaster said coldly as she turned to leave.

Ben grabbed her wrist quickly and she turned with a scowl on her face. Ben didn’t care, he noticed the beads of sweat pooled around her forehead and the excessive breathing. She was exhausted from the spell. 

“You should probably rest up a bit.”

Charmcaster yanked her hand away from the teenager and pointed an accusing finger at him.

“Listen here you fucking prick, I don’t know what you think this is but I suggest you focus on yourself. If I smell the smallest hint of bullshit, I will not hesitate to KILL you. We are enemies. Do not forget that.” Charmcaster spat with venom in her voice. 

“I say you should get some sleep so you can be prepared for a fight and you’re not half-dead already. I don’t want dead weight with me.” Ben responded coolly before sitting back down where he was originally. 

The witch glared at the hero before stepping over to the opposite wall and sliding down. Ben sighed before closing his eyes to get some rest as well. He wanted to be ready to fight at least two powerhouses. 

“30 minutes” He called out.

Ben’s eyes fluttered open from the touch of someone. He widened his eyes and jerked back when he saw Charmcaster’s face inches away from his.

“What are you doing?!”

“Relax I was giving you the necklace. That should keep Gwen from finding you.”

Ben looked down at the assortment of charms laid across his neck and he fingered the old reptile tooth in the middle. 

“Thanks.”

“Don’t mention it.”

Ben looked at his surroundings and found himself in darkness and he glanced out the window and saw stars in the sky. He jumped up and fixed his clothing before looking at the witch.

“What time is it?!”

“9:32 PM.” 

“What the fuck! I said 30 minutes!”

“I was up after 30 minutes and you were still knocked out. You were worried about me, but I don’t think you were ready for a fight and I don’t think 30 minutes would have made a difference.”

Ben wanted to be angry at the girl but she was right about him being completely drained from that fight with Gwen. He yawned loudly, he was still tired too; but this was no time to be sleeping. The hero wasn’t going to waste Charmcaster’s findings. 

“Let’s go.”

“I can’t teleport us there you know.” Charmcaster whined.

“Who said anything about teleporting?” Ben laughed.

The hero clicked through his watch and slammed it down quickly, he was enveloped in a green flash. When the light disappeared, Jetray stood in place of the boy with a cocky smile on its face. The alien lifted Charmcaster up bridal style and blasted up into the sky. The girl screamed at him to let her go as she held onto the alien for dear life. Ben was laughing as she complained that she didn’t like heights. 

“The big bad witch is scared of heights?” Ben mocked.

“Ben Tennyson, I will kill you!” She screamed.

Ben just ignored her and rocketed off in the direction of Rose. She clung to him and kept her eyes shut, but finally decided to open them and gasped at how beautiful the city lights looked from the sky. She loosened her grip on the hero and watched the passing lights, this was the first time she felt something other than pain and anger. Charmcaster smiled genuinely at the feeling rising in the pit of her stomach. 

“Wow so this is Rose? I only drove through here before. It seems like they’re having a festival.” Ben spoke softly.

The witch looked down at the colorful lights covering the town and heard the muffled sounds of music and laughter. She saw all the people walking around below them and raised an eyebrow, the girl didn’t feel this many spirits when she found Lucy. That must mean whoever they were looking for was in a closed off place with less people. 

Ben landed under the cloak of some trees, out of sight, and transformed back into human with Charmcaster in his arms. The silver-haired girl realized the position they were in and pushed herself off him.

“Let go of me. Jeez, take a hint.” She complained as she fixed her clothes.

Ben walked past her towards the festival they saw from the sky. There were vendors selling all types of random merchandise from snowglobes to T-shirts. People flooded the streets, mingling and laughing among themselves without a care in the world. Music blasted from speakers tied to light poles along the street and kids danced in groups as sugar took over their judgement. Roses covered every inch of the place, there were red, pink, white and even unnatural colors like black, green, and yellow. 

“Wow.” Charmcaster whispered in awe.

“Yeah.” Ben agreed.

The duo decided to start searching in small pubs and bars since they were the only closed off places with less people than the streets.

“ID please.” The bouncer asked the hero.

Ben raised an eyebrow and narrowed his eyes when he heard Charmcaster snicker from behind him.

“Yeah hero, where’s your ID?” Charmcaster whispered low enough for only Ben to hear.

“Huh? I’m Ben fucking Ten, is that enough identification for you? Stay in your lane, buddy.” He spat as he pushed past the shocked guard into the bar.

“You probably shouldn’t be throwing your secret identity out like that. You don’t know who might be listening in.” 

Ben ignored her and scanned the room for any sign of a blonde and sighed when he saw nobody with blonde hair. So he turned around to walk right out of the building, he found the bouncer still in a shocked state when he rushed out of the doors. Ben looked up and down the street, the hero realized the road was lined with clubs and bars. It would take forever to search every place. So he turned around to Charmcaster and gave her his signature smile, she scowled in response to his gesture.

“Can’t you just do another tracking spell? Since we’re a lot closer now, we can just tag 'em and bag ‘em.” 

“No I can’t  _ just _ do another tracking spell. I would need some ingredients before I could do another search. And I think I’d be able to find just what I need in this place.”

“Good so you go shopping and I’ll continue searching. Where should we meet up?”

“I’ll find you when I’m done gathering my things.” Charmcaster said sternly.

Ben nodded in agreement and watched Charmcaster disappear into the crowd. He didn’t have a clue as to where he should continue looking. It would take way too long to search every bar and who knows when Vilgax’s next move was.  _ But It wouldn’t take long for XLR8  _ Ben told himself as he looked around and headed into a dark alley filled with trash cars and vermin. He slammed down the omnitrix and a green flash filled the side street. XLR8 stood in place of Ben, the alien wasted no time speeding off in the direction of the clubs. Ben checked the basements, backrooms, and dance floors of every joint and none of them had any sign of Lucy. He was about to give up when he saw a figure lurking near some trash cans, Ben watched them retreat onto the side street and decided to follow. Sure, the figure looked suspicious but that wasn’t what caught his eye, it was the large, mutated, con artist, rodent that he was really concerned with.  _ What was Argit doing here? It couldn’t be a coincidence.  _ Ben said as he zoomed into the alley and reverted back to human. Argit still had his back to him and it looked like he was on the phone with someone. 

“Why am I not surprised to see a rat lurking in the shadows.” Ben mocked.

The mutant didn’t turn around but replied with an equally as snarky comment.

“Yeah yeah. Go kick fucking rocks, buddy.” 

“Argit.”

“What the fuc- Hold on, I gotta call you back.” Argit sighed as he put his phone away. “This better be fucking good or I’m gonna kick yo-” The mutant stopped when he finally turned and saw who was standing before him.

Ben ignored the rodent’s comment and narrowed his eyes at Argit, he HAD to be scheming and the boy wanted to find out with who.

“What’re you doing here?”

“Me? Enjoying the festival of Roses, dude. Why else? But what are YOU doing here? I didn’t take you for the festive type and why the fuck are you wearing Albedo’s clothing?”

Ben socked the mutant in the jaw to shut him up, Argit recoiled and hissed as he held his sore jaw. He glared up at the teenager and spat blood out at his feet.

“I don’t have time for your games, Argit. You WILL tell me why you’re here or you’re gonna be another dead rat in the fucking trash.”

The mutant hesitated and seemed to weigh his options before opening his mouth.

“Fine. You didn’t hear this from me, alright? A buyer wanted some teleportation crystals and I just happen to have a fresh batch lying around. They told me to meet them in Rose, but the hand-off location got compromised; so I was on the phone with them to decide on a new meet up spot.”

“Who?” Ben snapped.

“I don’t know and frankly I don’t care either. These people are spending a pretty penny on my crystals and I haven’t had business like this in months. So, I appreciate it if you would kindly hop off, Plumber boy.”

“Take me.”

“I don’t think you know how business works, Benny. Any and all physical interaction between the customer and the supplier is strictly confidential. I already soiled my reputation by telling you info about the buyer. Why do you wanna know anyway?”

“Because I have a sneaking suspicion that your buyer is exactly who I’m looking for. And if he’s buying those crystals for, what I think he’s buying those crystals for then you might be directly involved in the end of the universe.”

“Benny, you’re speaking crazy here. What’s going on?”

“Hex is going to use those-” 

Ben was cut off by an eerily familiar voice from behind him and it sent chills down his spine, the hairs on the back of his neck stood on end and goosebumps covered his arms. Ben’s lips curled downwards in a snarl as he narrowed his eyes.

“Well well well, look what the cat dragged in. My old pal Argit seems to be conversing with the enemy. My heart is torn in two. Well you know what they say, once a rat; always a rat.” Kevin mocked with hints of venom in his voice.

“Argit, run!” Ben muttered.

The rat was already backing away from the teenager with his eyes glued on Kevin, Argit stumbled into something along the shadows of the wall. A hand grabbed a hold of the mutant’s shoulder and held him firmly in place. Argit gulped before looking up to see a solemn- looking man with tattoos on his face.

“As if it would be that easy, child.” Hex croaked.


	15. Enemies Approach

“Wait wait! You need me to tell-.” Argit started with an anxious tone.

Hex squeezed the mutant's shoulder tightly and Argit couldn’t even finish his sentence because his body crumbled into dust. The rat skull hitting the ground and rolling near Ben’s foot as the rest of his skelton sat neatly on a pile of dust. 

“Vermin shouldn’t be making such bold assumptions.” Hex stated confidently.

Ben didn’t even have time to be shocked because anger overtook his emotions like forest moss on a couple of rocks. He was seconds from slamming down his watch when Kevin spoke up from behind him.

“You really think it’s a good idea to fight us? In the middle of this festival with all these innocent people around? And I thought you were a hero.” Kevin taunted.

Ben slowly cocked his head to the side so he can give Kevin a death stare from the corner of his eyes.

“You thought wrong.” Ben growled as a bright green flash covered the alley.

Kevin narrowed his eyes at the Thep Khufan standing before him, the mummy-like alien let out a horrid screech that bounced off the walls of the alleyway. It was an alien that he rarely saw Ben use, but the creature was strong nonetheless. Snare-oh’s elastic bandages were whipping around its body as the mummy stood there quietly. Hex made the first move by materializing his staff and blasting a beam of red light towards Ben. Snare-oh easily dodged it by unraveling his body and letting the attack go straight through to the other side of the alley. Kevin sidestepped to avoid falling debris when the beam blew the wall to smithereens.

“Watch it, Hex. This guy is actually tough, he can use those bandages for almost anything, I suggest we fall back to our hideout.”

“And miss out on the opportunity to kill Ben Tennyson? You said those bandages can do anything? Well let’s watch them burn!” 

A massive spew of flames exploded from the end of Hex’s staff and engulfed the alien before it could even react. Hex was laughing wickedly as he watched his nemesis disappear in the giant fireball. Kevin stood at the entrance of the alley with his signature poker face, he would be surprised if Ben was even in that fire. The former hero got his answer when two straps of white cloth came speeding out of the flames towards Hex. 

The villain was too busy celebrating his victory to see the attack coming, the bandages wrapped himself around the staff and arm of the sorcerer and pulled him towards the fire. Hex called out a quick spell to dissipate the flames before he was severely burned. The mummy stood unscathed, with smoke rising off it’s body, as it pulled Hex within a couple feet. Hex was about to call out another spell when he was cut off by a mind-numbing sensation coming from in front of him, he looked down to see the chest of the mummy was unraveled and a purple stone was sitting inside the body. It gave off a bright purple and powerful aura, even the sorcerer was helpless against the stone’s ancient power. He realized that his skin was starting to turn black and mutant into stem-like appendages, the man struggled to get away but the bandages were keeping him held firmly in place; he looked for Kevin and screamed for his assistance but widened his eyes when he saw nobody in the alley. Hex shrieked in agony as his skin crystallized and his bones shattered into pieces, he squeezed his eyes shut as tears slipped between his eyelids. When he thought all hope was lost and dread was overtaking his mind, he saw a blurry picture of a familiar girl walking towards him.

“Charmcaster!” Hex called out weakly.

Hope smiled at the dying old man and patted him on the head gently.

“That would be really convenient for you, huh?” 

Charmcaster materialized an axe out of mana and held it steady over her head and motioned for Ben to stick out the man’s neck. The alien complied and waited for Charmcaster to finally kill her past. Hope let out a cry of hatred before driving the axe straight down, the blade sliced through the weakened man’s neck and disappeared into mana particles. The woman looked at the decapitated head of her uncle on the dirty ground and smiled wickedly. Ben reverted back to his human form and handed Hope her uncle’s staff. She looked at the teenager with a raised eyebrow, and he gave her a goofy grin and a wink. Charmcaster blushed and turned her head quickly before regaining her composure.

“Thanks.” she muttered.

“Thank yourself.”

Charmcaster looked up at Ben and smiled again for no good reason, she felt like a mountain had been lifted off her shoulders. It was true that Ben simply talked to her and turned the witch against the man, but she didn’t want to spend her life chasing down “Gwens” to make enemies of. She hoped all that rage would disappear with her uncle and she can finally focus on becoming a better sorceress. The woman gripped the staff tightly and felt the infused power coursing through her. 

“If we’re going to get this girl of yours then now would be the time.” Charmcaster stated quickly as she surveyed the alley.

The witch had placed a barrier on the entrance of the alley to keep normal people away, but Kevin managed to slip away before she could finish the spell. It didn’t make any sense to chase after the mutant by herself so she decided to assist Ben instead. When she arrived and saw her uncle captured by Ben, the girl was relieved that she made the right choice.

“Lead me to them and I’ll stop Vilgax here and now.” Ben said arrogantly.

Charmcaster nodded before closing her eyes to envision the place Hex had spent most of his time, an old warehouse appeared in her mind with the smell of seawater nearby. 

“The old fish market by the pier.”

Ben ran out of the alley and saw the signs pointing towards the boardwalk and Charmcaster was right on his tail. The duo ran through the crowd with only one thing in mind: stop Vilgax. The docks was quiet with little lighting and the smell of saltwater stung the teenager’s nose, Ben scanned the area for any sign of activity but it was eerily quiet for a place that had a festival a couple blocks away.

“You sure this is the place?” Ben asked hesitantly.

“Positive.”

Charmcaster walked across the decrepit parking lot and examined the set of large, rusty, steel doors in front of her. The witch’s heart was racing and her breath was rapid, she wanted this to be over as fast as possible. Charmcaster didn’t know much about Vilgax, but from what Ben told her and the rumors she heard from others; she can assume that he was a monster. The witch watched Ben push on the doors and grabbed his wrist quickly.

“Wait. Do you think this is such a good idea? I mean it's going to be two on three and we’re going against some pretty tough guys.”

“We have to stop Vilgax at all costs.” The boy stated without hesitation. 

“I know but if you lose here then I don’t think there’s anyone else who stands a chance.”

“At all costs.” Ben repeatedly firmly.

Charmcaster released the boy and gave him a questionably look of concern, she wasn’t very fond of this “at all costs” nonsense he was spewing out. She didn’t really want to die at the hands of Vilgax. While she was thinking to herself, Ben already pushed the doors open and the creaking sound of metal broke the witch out of her trance. Charmcaster was skeptical but followed the teenager into the darkness, when their eyes adjusted to the lack of light they realized that nobody was here. The whole place was empty with no sign of recent activity, it almost felt like an illusion. The darkness cloaked the room in a heavy cape that dulled the pair’s senses with every step they took into the warehouse. Charmcaster felt an evil presence lingering in the room and she suspected that to be the rumored monster, Vilgax. All of a sudden, the factory lights buzzed to life with a bright intensity that blinded the duo like a deer in headlights. Charmcaster was recovering from the sudden brightness and heard a deep voice echo within the room.  _ No… It can’t be! _ She screamed in her head, she began to shake with anger as her lips turned into a scowl. The silver haired girl brought her hands away from her eyes to see her worst enemy sitting in a chair.

“HOW ARE YOU STILL ALIVE?”


	16. Back To Square One

Hex sat quietly in his chair with a look of boredom plastered on his face.

“To think my own flesh and blood can’t tell the difference between her real uncle and a mana clone.”

“Bullshit.” Charmcaster snapped back.

“Watch your tone, young lady. I AM still your uncle. I sent a copy of myself and my ally out to intercept you while the rest escaped. I’ve been sending you on a wild goose chase with mana, my dear niece. It seems that no matter how powerful you may think you are, that nose of yours still can’t sniff out the slightest magical anomaly. I thought I taught you better.”

“Cut the shit, Hex. Where are the others?” Ben interjected quickly.

“You think you can step into my business and demand things of me? You’ll soon find out where you fall on the food chain, Benjamin Tennyson.”

Charmcaster stepped in front of the watch wielding hero and snarled at her uncle.

“This is between you and me.” she growled dangerously.

“Haha, always straight to the point with you, my dear niece. While I would love to send your traitorous self to the spirit realm, I’m under strict orders to capture you alive. And you, Ben, I was promised several magical relics for your head!” 

Hex raised his hand out in front of him and chains, cloaked in red aura, shot out from underneath his sleeve towards the hero. Ben reacted within seconds and changed into Diamondhead who immediately put up a massive crystal wall to block the attack. Hex smiled as the chains retracted back to its master and he stood up from his chair.  _ Now this might be interesting _ the ancient man told himself as he materialized his staff into his hand. He shot several red balls that floated to specific spots in the room, they swirled before transforming into a big blood-shot eyeball that stared at the duo. Diamondhead scanned the area around him for any possible attack and relaxed slightly when the eyes did not move. The crystal alien shot a barrage of sharp projectiles at the man and he responded by twirling his staff in front of him at super human speed that resulted in the crystals being shattered into pieces. 

“You won’t beat me with such novice attacks.”

Diamondhead frowned as he slammed his hands into the ground and diamonds started to poke out from the ground near Hex and ,before the man could react, the crystals shot up and surrounded Hex in a diamond prison. It was only moments before the prison exploded into a million pieces that flew in every direction.

“Like I said-” 

Hex caught Diamondhead’s fist before it made impact with his face. The hero had used the prison as a distraction to close the distance between the two. The sorcerer chuckled darkly as he began to overpower the hero in raw strength.

“-You’re gonna have to try harder than that, boy!”

Hex pulled the alien in close and delivered a headbutt to Diamondhead’s hard skull, which made the alien stumble back, Hex took this time to conjure a massive shadowy hand to grab the hero by the torso and toss him into a nearby wall. Ben had a smirk on his face as he slowly rose from the hole in the wall, the hero jumped out and dodged several beams of energy shot in his direction. He retaliated with his own diamond projectiles that he rapid-fired at the warlock. Ben knew he wasn’t going to win a long range battle against the man and decided to close the distance again. Hex conjured shadowy tendrils that sped towards the alien, Diamondhead changed his hand into a sharp crystal blade and sliced his way through; the crystal blade only disrupting the magic energy and allowed for Ben to rush the sorcerer down. The enemies gritted their teeth as Diamondhead’s blade and Hex’s staff collided, each trying to overpower the other in strength. Hex’s senses heightened as he felt mana collecting into a group on his left. He glanced at the anomaly and saw Charmcaster casting a spell, the man immediately felt the need to retreat and tried to jump back from the boy. He grunted heavily when he didn’t move an inch, the sorcerer looked down at his feet to see them encased in crystal and he glanced back up at Diamondhead, who was smirking at the man. Hex felt rage flow through his veins as he began to radiate high levels of power. 

“You think you’ve trapped me?! I’ll kill each and every-” 

Hex was cut off by the mana explosion caused by the spell his niece threw at him, Ben encased himself in crystal to avoid being hit by the same spell. Hope was breathing heavily as she smiled at the crater that she made, all that remained of her uncle was a charred spot and a tattered burnt piece of his robe.

“Was that it?” a voice called out.

Diamondhead’s smirk turned into a frown as he stared at an unharmed Hex sitting in the same chair they found him in. He looked like he hadn't even moved from that spot, sporting the same bored expression on his face.

“Ben Tennyson, if you can’t fight against one of my clones then you have no chance against the real me. And Charmcaster, still the weak little girl I left you as all those years ago. You think you can stop me with your cheap magic tricks and poor mana control? That book you stole from my library won’t do you any good at the level you’re at now. Come find me when you have powers like mine.” Hex stated coldly. 

The team didn’t have a chance to respond as they watched Hex disappear from view with a slight smile on his face. Charmcaster clenched her fists and screamed in frustration, shooting off spells at the old walls of the factory. She blew the chair, her uncle was sitting in, to pieces and grabbed her hair; she wanted to pull it out and end this nightmare. Hope knew that this was as real as it gets and she won’t be waking up in her bed anytime soon. Charmcaster was in the middle of her rage when she felt a hand grip her shoulder. She turned her head with cold dark purple eyes to meet Ben’s tough green ones, her eyes softened a bit at the look of worry that Ben was giving her.

“Relax or you’re gonna bring the whole building down on top of us. It’s okay. You underestimated him. We both did, next time we’ll bring our A game.” Ben spoke sternly.

The boy walked away before she could respond to his words. And her ears perked up at the sound of sirens, she looked over at Ben who seemed already alert to the sound. It would be a few minutes before this place was completely surrounded by police. 

“It seems like you guys are in a little bit of a pickle.” 

Ben chuckled at the familiar voice and turned to face the scientist. 

“Yah, could you help us out a bit, Paradox?”

“Of course and it seems like you’ve made a new friend. Good, cause we can use the help.” 

Paradox snapped his fingers and they were back in Albedo’s hideout. It still looked trashed but some things were already picked up and others were restored to its normal state.

“Not only did you steal my clothes, but you alerted the Plumbers to my hideout and destroyed it. I simply asked you not to touch anything.” 

“I never thought I’d be happy to see you, Albedo.” Ben laughed.

“What am I, chopped liver?” Tetrax asked as he walked into the room.

Ben smiled sadly at the ex-Plumber, knowing that he abandoned the alien AND the others.  _ What kind of hero am I? _ He asked himself as he glanced at Paradox and Albedo. He was still trying to hang onto the hero title even though he threw it away like trash, his mind was at war with his heart and he didn’t know who was winning. 

“Cheer up, kid. The world isn’t over yet.” Paradox commented with his signature smile. 

“You think we can win?” Ben muttered as he thought back to their encounter with Hex.

“Of course we’ll win, you don’t need a time traveler to tell you that.” Tetrax interjected.

Paradox simply winked at the boy and flashed another smile before heading over to sit down on the couch. Albedo moved towards the center of the room to grab everyone’s attention.

“Now that you humans are done motivating each other, I would like to share some information with you.” 

Ben slapped a serious expression onto his face, he was wondering what Albedo had been doing all this time.

“I talked to some of my fellow intellectuals about accessing the Forge of Creation. It’s rumored that a rift in timespace can bring you to that exact destination. The only problem is that it’s protected by an entity. They didn’t know any details about this entity other than its power level, we’re looking at a planetary level being. This rift is located on a sunny planet known as Ra and inhibited by tribal people that worship the sun god. This isn’t a secret so we can assume that’s where Vilgax is heading.”

“I’ll take care of this entity. You guys just worry about closing that rift.” Ben said as he rubbed his watch.

“Ben, as you and the watch are right now, you don’t stand a chance against this opponent. None of us do, but you stand the BEST chance against it. I didn’t only gossip in my absence, but I also have the tool needed to unlock master control over the watch.”

“I have master control already, it isn’t that gr-”

“No you buffoon, I mean the REAL master control. What you have is simply an update to the watch. But this- this will give you almost unlimited power.”

“That sounds amazing, Albedo.”

“Good news is that I’ve had it for a while now, but the bad news is that the tool was damaged in the Plumber raid.”

“I assume you can fix it?” Paradox asked.

“Of course, but the only working part required is in Azmuth’s lab on my home planet.”

“Of course it is!” Ben whined as he sighed deeply.

“I’m banished from my world so it's going to have to be you, Ben. I hope your relationship with Azmuth isn’t as bad as mine. I suggest you go with the magic girl, she might be able to use her spells to get you around the alarms.”

“You’re funny. I’m not going anywhere, I have things to do.” Charmcaster said as she waved the group off and spun around to leave.

“Really? You’re telling me that whatever you have to do is more important than saving the universe?” Albedo snapped at the girl.

“You said it, not me.”

Charmcaster was about to open the door when she felt a hand on her shoulder. She sighed internally, she was getting real tired of him doing that.

“Charmcaster if Vilgax wins then your chance to fight Hex is out the window, you’ll never have the opportunity to get stronger because there’s a good chance that Earth will be gone. And sure you can travel to a different planet, but how long until there’s nowhere left to run?” Ben questioned.

Charmcaster looked between Ben’s outstretched hand and the door.  _ Ugh I hate when he’s right! _ The girl let go of the door handle and smacked the hero’s hand away as she trudged back into the room, Ben followed her with a goofy grin on his face before turning to Albedo.

“Can you get us there?”

The former villain smiled wickedly.


End file.
